Sometimes it doesn’t pay to listen to the hype, but most producers were enthusiastic about this years’ grape quality. Photo / Getty Images
The first wines from 2025 will hit the shelves over the next few weeks. Was it a good vintage? Indevin, the country’s largest producer, which describes itself as “an unsung juggernaut”, has extensive vineyards and giant wineries in Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne and Marlborough, and prominent brands including Villa Maria, Thornbury,
Vidal and Esk Valley.
“A cool, wet January was followed by warm, settled conditions from February through to harvest,” reports Indevin’s winegrowing director, Patrick Materman. “This resulted in clean, ripe fruit with great natural acidity and classic varietal character. The 2025 New Zealand vintage has delivered excellent wines across all our growing regions.”
Wine companies’ press releases about the quality of each vintage should always be treated with caution – after all, they are keen to promote their wine. And they need to. With production having recently exceeded demand, some grape-growers without supply contracts with wineries this year left their crops unpicked on the vines or dropped them to the ground. Some big wine producers did the same in their company-owned vineyards.
In Marlborough, which has 72% of the country’s total vineyard area, Dog Point Vineyard stated that with “generous yields [large crops] the fruit took some time to ripen fully. Thankfully, we were blessed with classic dry and warm conditions which kept fruit quality high”. Materman praised his sauvignon blanc for its “hallmark purity and punch. Pinot noir shows great colour and varietal definition”.
However, one of the region’s most experienced viticulturists has rung a warning bell. “Some vineyards cropped at previously unseen levels, yielding sauvignon blanc that is low in varietal character and diluted – the very product the industry did not need.”
In Hawke’s Bay, the second-largest region, Brookfields Vineyards reported, “The white varieties – chardonnay and pinot gris in particular – are of exceptional quality.”
Materman praised red varieties, particularly merlot and cabernet sauvignon for their “deep colour, ripe tannins and great depth”.
Central Otago, the third-largest region, was hit by a very late, deep frost in early November, described by one producer as “rather calamitous”. However, after a moderately warm and very dry growing season, most producers were upbeat about their grapes’ quality. Misha’s Vineyard, at Bendigo, views 2025 as “a particularly good year for riesling”.
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