There’s always friendly competition between New Zealand’s top wine regions, so when Hawke’s Bay beat out big hitters like Marlborough to be named one of the world’s Great Wine Capitals the locals must have been popping the champagne (sorry! the méthode champenoise).
That designation puts the Bay in an exclusive group alongside the likes of Napa Valley and Bordeaux, confirming what devotees of the Gimblett Gravels have always known – the wines coming out of this region are absolutely world-class.
Of course it’s not enough to just make great Syrah. Culinary tourists won’t go out of their way to visit a wine region unless there is a whole infrastructure set up to support a happy trip. From luxury accommodation to degustation dining to premium transport services, Great Wine Capitals Best Of Wine Tourism Awards were set up to recognise and reward the businesses that live alongside the vines. I recently visited to take a tour of this year’s winners.
Nowhere in the world have I encountered anything like the Smith & Sheth cellar door experience. Housed in a purpose-built studio in central Havelock North, the tasting session reinvents the genre, inviting you to relax in leather chairs sipping comparative tastings while a massive screen takes you on a scenic journey through the natural environments that have contributed to what’s in your glass.