22 Impressions of New Zealand
Following her recent trip to New Zealand, Canadian WineDiva has posted the first of her series of blogs on the culture, people and (of course) wine of New Zealand...
"So You Want to Know About New Zealand?
Here are twenty-two of my impressions of New Zealand.
I think they will give you some insight into the land at the end of the earth - and twenty-two reasons why you'll love the Kiwis too...
There is no one single factor that endeared New Zealand to me, rather it was an endless string of moments and discoveries that tagged along during my three week tour in February 2011.
My first discovery was that although New Zealand may be considered a long way from Vancouver, it is very easy to get there. Air New Zealand offers a direct flight from Vancouver to Auckland that will run you about 13 hours in the air. No layovers!
Second. Loyalty
Air New Zealand is,
without a doubt, the friendliest airline I have ever flown (and there have been many) and the one with the most loyalty to their home country. The wine program Air New Zealand has
developed is outstanding and completely
supportive of Kiwi wines (but more on that later).
Third. New Zealanders actually like being referred to as Kiwis.
While we might think the moniker is derogatory (a kiwi is after all a fruit), they associate Kiwi with their adorable, long billed, flightless and endangered national bird of the same name.
Fourth. New Zealand is small.
But it's like taking many of the best bits of Canada and rolling them into two good sized islands. How small is it? Well, put it this way, you can pretty much be assured that wherever you are in New Zealand you are not more than 100 kilometers away from one ocean or another. It is less than one-third the size of British Columbia. Auckland is very much like Vancouver - just without
our beautiful, rugged mountain backdrop.
Fifth. New Zealand is green.
More than just the colour green - I mean, we know green here in British Columbia - but green in philosophy. Somewhere around 94% of New Zealand wineries (with an additional 3-4% organic) are now considered sustainable. New Zealand Winegrowers has a very reachable goal of 100% by 2012. Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ) has a scorecard to assist in making the process easier for wineries to achieve: water quality and efficiency of water use, waste minimization, optimal chemical management and energy efficiency. There has also been a nil residue initiative being tested in several
areas with the intent to eliminate chemical use in
vineyards, even in higher-prone disease areas.
Sixth. Milk and cheese
The dairy industry is still the most important industry in New Zealand. Yep, there are a lot of cows and sheep.
Seventh. Free-range, grass-fed stock.
What we think is rare and impressive here, the meat we buy at Whole Foods and specialty butchers, is commonplace there. It is a glorious thing - what happened to us here? We need to pay attention - really pay attention!..."
For full article visit http://www.winescores.ca/newsletters/NZintro.htm