New NZ Wine Publications – In this digital age of Internet and Social Media we tend to overlook the fact that there is a massive amount of actual BOOK publishing still going on: in fact with the advent of self-publishing platforms, there seem to more physical books available than ever before, in shops and online.
The New Zealand Wine Industry has been the subject of much publishing over the years, as well as magazines and multi media – I try to keep an updated list of the best HERE.
I have a large collection of over 100 #NZWINE related books and other publications which I built up over many years: from a 1958 Viticulture manual by F Berry-Smith, Dick Scott’s Wine Makers of New Zealand 1974, Wine Encyclopedias, regional books, biographies, wine review annuals and more… It’s a very useful resource for all the inquiries I get from folk want to know something in particular about New Zealand Wine.
I have lots of other NZ Wine ephemera too, including a 1960s Cooks NZ Wine Co. wall chart of the wine making process, and a neat collection of old collectable Cork Screws.
Anyway here are four fairly recently published NZ Wine books that are essential for any New Zealand wine lover. I’m keeping my eye out for copies to add to my collection.
Click each Book’s title to purchase a copy for your NZ Wine Library.
Waiheke Island – A World of Wine
Waiheke Island – A World of WineClare Dunleavy / Photography by Marti Friedlander
Beatnik Publishing. RRP$70.00
Step into our vineyards. Meet our people. Discover our story. Waiheke Island is an internationally acclaimed destination producing world-class wine – but it didn’t start off that way. Meet the enterprising, determined and inspiring collective who planted vineyards and transformed this special place into an award-winning island of outstanding wines.
Who are they? Where did they come from? Turn the pages. Pour a glass of wine. Celebrate their endeavours. Portraits by New Zealand’s esteemed photographer Marti Friedlander.
Wine: Stories from Hawke’s Bay
Wine: Stories from Hawke’s BayMark Sweet / Photography by Tim Whittaker.
Baybuzz, RRP$69.00
The history of Hawke’s Bay’s internationally acclaimed wine industry has been told at last. In a beautiful hard-cover book, published by BayBuzz. It’s a lively account. Writer Mark Sweet sets out the evolution from Hawke’s Bay’s first vines into today’s multi-million dollar industry.
Sweet deftly supplements well-researched historic fact, with stories of Hawke’s Bay’s iconic wineries and personalities, and personal anecdotes about key individual players and events. Peter Cowley of Te Mata Estate discusses the region’s natural attributes for grape-growing, and explains the winemaking process in a major ‘soil to bottle’ feature.
Stunning images showcase the stories, with a mix of evocative archival images, and extensive original photography shot by Tim Whittaker.
Marlborough Man
Marlborough Man / Allan ScottAllan Scott with Eric Arnold / Photography by Patrick Reynold.
Harper Collins, RRP $55.00
The true story of the rise of Marlborough and NZ Sauvignon Blanc, told by one of its pioneers, winemaker Allan Scott as both personal and professional memoir, fully illustrated. The remarkable story of Marlborough wine, from the planting of the first vines to the global success of New Zealand’s billion-dollar sauvignon blanc industry, is also the very personal story of winemaker Allan Scott.
As a young farm hand he helped plant the first vines, going on to help Montana and Corbans establish their sauvignon vineyards, and and then to found his own hugely successful family winery. He knows the real stories, the mistakes and the triumphs, the heroes and villains, and how an unlikely region of New Zealand’s South Island became a varietal powerhouse and major export industry. A lot of how it happened came down to luck, along with perserverence and bloody-mindedness, and some extraordinary ingenuity that revolutionised winemaking…
New Zealand Wine: The Land, the Vines, the People
New Zealand Wine: The Land, the Vines, the People
Warren Moran / Auckland University Press
RRP: $69.00
Mount Difficulty Pinot Noir and Spy Valley Riesling. Montana Sauvignon Blanc and Cloudy Bay Chardonnay. Though the New Zealand wine industry really began only fifty years ago, vines and winemakers have now spread across the land – from Central Otago to Kumeu, Waipara to Wairarapa – to produce notable wines for New Zealanders and the world.
For half a century, geographer and wine enthusiast Warren Moran has followed the development of the industry, talked to the winemakers and tasted the wines. In this book, he provides an unrivalled introduction to New Zealand wine: the climate, soils, and geography our winemakers work with; the grape varieties they have tried to tame; and the extraordinary personalities, families and companies who have made the wine and the industry.
After introducing readers to the history and geography of New Zealand wine, this monumental book takes readers to each of the key winegrowing regions to tell the story of wines and winemakers in Auckland, Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, the Wairarapa, Marlborough, Canterbury and Central Otago.
Illustrated with three-dimensional maps of regions and localities and spectacular photographs of the vineyards, the wines, and the winemakers, New Zealand Wine: The Land, the Vines, the People is a must for all of those interested in understanding the extraordinary wines of New Zealand.