northland chamber

LEADER COLUMN NOVEMBER 2010
A recent brief conversation with Monty Knight of Okahu Estate Vineyard and Winery got me thinking about the role of the wine industry has to play in Northland’s regional economy. In many ways this industry captures all the opportunities and challenges that are faced by today’s business people. It can be a high risk enterprise requiring a large amount of optimism, an unstinting passion for the pursuit of excellence and is subject to all the vagaries of the environment and economy.

It also speaks of Northland’s cultural landscape, going back to early colonial days, it has strong historical relevance and has enjoyed somewhat of a renaissance in recent times as our palettes become more sophisticated and we recognise that on occasions Northlanders can compete both on price and quality in an incredibly competitive environment.

This competiveness was exemplified at the recent New Zealand International Wine Awards. These awards are New Zealand’s largest and open to both New Zealand and internationally-produced wines. Northland wineries were awarded 21 medals including three gold medals, four silvers and fourteen bronze. The fact that these wineries were spread between Mangawhai and Karikari indicates that this is not confined to a small part of the region but spread throughout Northland.

Northland’s environmental conditions lend themselves towards producing wines with a different style and flavour profile from other parts of the country. We will be limited by suitable land but we have a proven capability to create quality wines. This and the recent success at competitions are important for two reasons. Firstly predicted higher excise costs will present a significant threat to the industry particularly if these costs cannot be passed on to consumers. Quality and regional distinctiveness may provide a competitive advantage over high volume, low priced producers.

More importantly, wine provides more than a product, it provides an experience. Wine can be both a destination and a reason to travel. Wellingtonians flock to the Waiarapa every weekend to sample wine and produce and there is no reason why Northland cannot be promoted in the same manner to the Auckland market. It may not be a large market but it is important to our reputation and complementary to our larger tourism market. Within the blandness of the global market those things unique to Northland such as of distinctive wines created as a result of our history, culture and sub-tropical natural environment give our region a point of difference in a crowded market.