KEY POINTS:
Tie-dye-clad hippies beating bongos on the sunny streets of Nelson left a lingering impression from one of my first forays into the region. But it's an image that's at odds with a wine scene moving to a far more modern rhythm.
Nelson's boutique players may be a bit
bohemian, but retro rusticity is now hard to find in the region's carefully crafted and cosmopolitan wines.
Image problems have beset Nelson as a wine region. Not that it's had a bad image, with the likes of Neudorf and Greenhough showing that Nelson can be the source of world-class crus. But with regional reputations built largely on one or two wine styles, Nelson's ability to do a pretty good job with a wide range of grape varieties left it without an all-important focal point to promote.
As in Marlborough, sauvignon blanc is Nelson's most widely planted grape, with an attractive, grassy, herbal style that tends to be softer than that of its neighbour. It's also making an increasing number of impressive wines from its next most important variety, pinot noir, which range from some of the country's top examples to best value.
Chardonnay can also shine, and in recent years there's been growing excitement surrounding the region's aromatic varieties, such as riesling, pinot gris, gewurztraminer and even viognier.
The wineries themselves are as diverse as the wines they make, from the region's solid Austrian pioneer Seifried to promising Swiss newcomer Blackenbrook.
Nelson is home to Te Mania's Richmond Plains label, one of the country's few certified organic producers. Then there's Woollaston, a recent partnership between a Las Vegas casino owner and former Nelson mayor Philip Woollaston, whose impressive four-level, gravity-fed winery feels more Napa than Nelson.
At Spencer Hill, Nelson's non-conformist tradition is alive and well in the somewhat way-out winemaking of Californian Philip Jones. Pinot noir fermented in plastic bag-lined boxes may sound a bit wacky, but the quality of the wines shows this approach works.
There is one common factor that unites the region: the size of its wineries. Most are still small, family-owned operations, and while the big wine companies regularly source grapes from the region's growers, none have permanent interests here.
It was the similarities between the artisan nature of Nelson's wineries and the region's vibrant arts and crafts scene that spurred the setting up of Nelson Wineart trail in 2003, an initiative that's helped put Nelson wineries on the tourist map. This raised the region's profile locally, but something bigger was required to get the attention of the rest of the world.
Inspired by its success with aromatics, the next step was Nelson's decision to host New Zealand's first ever Aromatics Symposium this year.
Local aromatics held their own in the symposium's national and international tastings, part of a programme that attracted highly respected speakers and delegates from across the globe.
Its success means that this will become a regular triennial event, continuing to strengthen the connection between Nelson and its aromatics.
First impressions are not always accurate. Now when I think of Nelson, it's not the whiff of patchouli from an ageing New Ager that evokes memories of the region. Rather, the toasty aromas of chardonnays, the berry bouquets of pinots, and of course the spice and flowers from the aromatics that are wafting ever stronger through its wineries today.
