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"Exploring Waiheke Island's Montepulciano: The Rising Star of New Zealand Wine"

Waiheke Island's wine industry is known for its adventurous spirit, often looking to the warmer climates of the Mediterranean for inspiration rather than sticking to New Zealand's more renowned styles like Sauvignon Blanc. One varietal that has recently been catching the eye of winemakers and drinkers alike is Montepulciano. If you haven't heard of it, read on for a quick introduction to this Italian grape and the unique style it produces here.



Montepulciano - The Wine;

Montepulciano is a wine that is upfront and proud! In the glass, its colour is often a deep purple with generous aromas of dark fruits, herbs, and spices. The body hosts moderate tannins and acidity, providing an approachable roundness on the palate. In Italy, Slavonian oak is preferred to preserve its fruit-forward nature as these wines are often enjoyed young. Closer to home, we primarily use used oak, sometimes of American origin.


Montepulciano – Its Home;

A curious trait of Montepulciano is that it is indigenous, meaning (in Europe at least) it is found in only one country and often in highly specific areas. One might suspect it to be cultivated around the village of Montepulciano, but one needs to venture east to the village of Abruzzo. Here, the grape enjoys a touch of elevation with gorgeous views of the Adriatic Sea, which presents a warm, dry breeze crucial to overcoming its uneven ripeness.

As an indigenous variety, one could debate that the potential of Montepulciano today is to conserve its heritage. However, creating wines from these varieties outside the strict regulations of Europe starts to get interesting. Waiheke Island shares similar temperatures to Abruzzo but has significant differences in soil, rainfall, and humidity. As a result, we see wines expressing vintage variation and adapting slight twists to their European traits. They take on the character of Waiheke's most important styles: the spiciness of Syrah and the fruit and roundness of Bordeaux blends, without the greener traits of Cabernet Sauvignon that can dominate in cooler vintages.




Montepulciano – Its Future on Waiheke;

With an increase in cultivation across the Island, this charming Italian varietal seems to be a winemaker's choice.


Its ability to buffer the decreasing predictability in weather, its enjoyability without the pesky cellaring time, and its embodied characteristics from Waiheke Island's more well-known reds have so far rewarded wineries with gold medals and five-star ratings. So go ahead and treat yourself to the current vintages from Waiheke Island favourites;








Thanks to towineornottowine for contributing.

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