Hawke’s Bay named the 12th Great Wine Capital of the World,” declared Hawke’s Bay Today on May 28. Following the devastating floods of Cyclone Gabrielle, which badly damaged or destroyed about 10% of the region’s vineyard area, the announcement was welcomed as a timely boost.
Hawke’s Bay’s wines rank among this country’s greatest, but who selected our “wine capital”? The Great Wine Capitals Network was founded by the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 1999.
In its own words, “The Great Wine Capitals is a network of major global cities in both the northern and southern hemispheres, which share a key economic and cultural asset: their internationally renowned wine regions.”
The 11 other wine capitals – including Adelaide – are big cities. For New Zealand, the capital status has been given to an entire region.
Things get stranger. “‘Wine capital’ branding comes with a top-shelf price tag,’” noted Hawke’s Bay Today on August 12, 2009. “Hawke’s Bay may be asked to contribute $40,000 annually so Hastings can be named the ‘wine capital of New Zealand’.”
That month, three members of the Great Wine Capital Network were due to arrive in Hawke’s Bay, after visiting Christchurch, “the other city contesting the title” on behalf of the Central Otago, Canterbury, Marlborough and Nelson wine regions.
In Hawke’s Bay, not all wineries were convinced of the capital title’s benefits and validity.
“Christchurch has been selected as the wine capital of New Zealand, beating Hastings in a bid for the title,” RNZ reported on October 10, 2009, quoting a Christchurch City Council press release.
But in September 2010, a major earthquake caused widespread damage in the city, followed by the devastating quakes of 2011.
Momentum for the network gradually faded. “The idea of Christchurch as a ‘wine capital’ didn’t necessarily sit well with the [other South Island] regions where the wine was grown and made,” recalls Jo Fountain, associate professor of tourism and rural social science at Lincoln University.
Winegrowers in Hawke’s Bay hope their recent selection will boost regional wine tourism and exports. “Internationally, it is probably Marlborough and Central Otago [that receive more recognition],” says Lauren Swift, of Haumoana-based Swift Wines, “so it is really nice for us to get more of a look-in.”
