Editorial: Optimism of wine industry well justified

Great wine and great hospitality - that's a pretty good mix. I have come across these valuable attributes (valuable to an economy like Hawke's Bay's) over the past fortnight and I have been left impressed, proud and optimistic.

For once upon a time the wines created and served around these parts were, shall we say, not terribly special.

Sweet things and questionable things, and there were a couple of tongue-throttling drops which could take grease off an engine block.

The place for wines to be made was France or Spain.

But today, and the remarkable and constant international accolades reflect this, it is Hawke's Bay.

The winemakers here are as visionary as they are adept at retrieving the very best from the fruit, which grows in the very best of soils.

We attended a wine launch recently at Craggy Range and got talking to one of the other guests, ex-Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fife.

He was absolutely buoyant about the riches of the Bay when it came to great wines, and for the way the region sparked people to create great places to enjoy them.

There was a fine air of optimism, and it was the same air I sensed while speaking with several winemakers over the past week.

They pursue the very best.

There's no hit and hope with these people - they have remarkable resolve, and to see several vintages from the ordinary seasons of 2011 and 2012 strike medal-winning chord is testament to their skills and passion for the craft.

And to hear them sing the virtues of the 2013 and 2014 vintages, among the best we have ever seen, creates a real feel-good aura.

It's a good-looking future for the industry after some tough years.

I also caught up with a young man who was determined to be a winemaker and was going through the EIT's excellent wine science course.

This was a couple of days after I'd watched the young chef students prepping up for the Hawke's Bay A&P Bayleys Wines Awards.

The aroma of focus and determination was as strong as the sauces simmering.

The young wine guy was effervescent about his life in the Bay and excited to become part of the wine industry.

It's all looking very good.

Great wine and great hospitality - we can do it because we have some great people steering the way.