Marlborough may pull 1,000 hectares of vines
PGG Wrightson Wine’s Blair McLean told NZ Herald’s The Country that vineyard removals are speeding up as global drinking falls. In Marlborough, he put the figure at up to 1,000 hectares coming out. Some growers are looking at apples, berries and cherries.
When bottles stop moving, the vine becomes a land-use choice.
On The Country, NZ Herald’s rural show on 27 August, Hamish McKay spoke to Blair McLean of PGG Wrightson Wine. McLean, a viticulture specialist, said vineyard removals are accelerating as global wine consumption falls. In Marlborough he put the number at up to 1,000 hectares coming out.
That is not a rumour about one block. Marlborough is New Zealand’s Sauvignon Blanc engine. A thousand hectares is a real slice of the valley floor — vines that took years to plant, now cheaper to pull than to farm for a warehouse that will not empty.
Some growers are looking at apples, berries and cherries. The land still works. The crop on it is the question.
Agriculture and Trade Minister Todd McClay was on the same show. He talked about replacing the RMA, backing the sector through the squeeze, and a trade deal with India. Policy sits in the second chair. The first chair is demand.
Mini-concept: when the bottle does not sell, the vine is a land-use decision, not a forever crop.
A flavoured can does not occupy a hectare. These rows either stay in Sauvignon or become fruit trees.
Remember: up to 1,000 ha of vines coming out in Marlborough.
Source: NZ Herald