Wine Grape Varieties

wine grapes grown in Hawke's Bay

1. Major wine grape varieties
Grown in Hawke’s Bay

2. Major wine grape varieties
Based on information and experiences of
viticulturists from Hawke’s Bay

3. Cabernet Franc

4. Cabernet Franc
•Cabernet Franc is a moderately productive, black
variety with medium-sized clusters that have
small, round, blue-black berries
•Cabernet Franc is often grown to produce
varietal wine but is more commonly blended with
other varieties, particularly Merlot and Cabernet
Sauvignon.
•It grows on a wide range of soils and has
produced excellent results on sandy soils and
loams
•It ripens sooner than Cabernet Sauvignon

5. Cabernet Franc
•It can be spur or cane pruned
•Spur pruning will reduce yields but some growers feel that
the variety performs better when cane pruned in New
Zealand, commonly 2 cane VSP
•Rootstocks such as 101-14 and Riparia Gloire which reduce
vine vigour are commonly used.
•Cabernet Franc is commonly used as an indicator test plant
for determining the virus status of vines
•For example, this variety readily shows symptoms of
leafroll virus. Only recently in New Zealand have quality
wine producing clones been imported to replace the old
“virus-testing” vines and this will improve the quality of the
wine

6. Cabernet Sauvignon

7. Cabernet Sauvignon
•Recent studies at U.C. Davis, California, have
determined that Cabernet Sauvignon is
actually the hybrid offspring of Sauvignon
Blanc and Cabernet Franc
•Cabernet Sauvignon is a black variety with
small to medium clusters and small, blue-black
berries with tough skin which helps to give it
good resistance to disease

8. Cabernet Sauvignon
•Site selection is important for this variety when it is grown in a cool
climate due to the length of time it takes to ripen
•Cabernet Sauvignon is a vigorously growing variety that, if grown
on the wrong soil, will produce dense canopies and unripe fruit
•Unripe Cabernet Sauvignon has a distinctive herbal, herbaceous
green character which is considered undesirable from a
winemaking perspective
•Hot sites that have very free draining soil or soil where the water
supply to the roots can be controlled, are needed to achieve a
balanced vine
•In New Zealand (southern hemisphere), gentle north facing slopes
of clay where the rootzone is restricted, have been successful sites

9. Cabernet Sauvignon
•Old, stoney, free-draining riverbeds which store and radiate heat have
been proven to give very good quality wines with very good structure
•However, even on ideal sites, growers still perform canopy management
techniques to maximize light interception
•Cabernet Sauvignon can be spur or cane pruned and VSP is frequently
used as the trellis system
•Spur pruning will reduce yields but this is often desirable as fruit thinning
in cool climates is routine to ensure maximum ripening
• SO4 rootstock was once frequently used in New Zealand, but the
tendency of this variety to invigorate the vine has compounded the
problem of shaded vines when grown on soils with high vigour potential
•Now, even on sites with low vigour potential, rootstocks such as 101-14
and Riparia Gloire which reduce vine vigour, are commonly used

10. Merlot
•Merlot produces medium-sized to large clusters of berries
•The berries are small, blue-black with good colour
•The bunch has a distinct shoulder that is sometimes
removed as a part of fruit thinning
•Merlot bunches often combine, become entwined and
appear as huge bunches, whereas in fact there are two
bunches
•It is important to recognize this as these are more
susceptible to disease because of the reduced air flow and
should be targeted when crop thinning
•Merlot will grow on a wide range of soils but has proven to
perform well where soil water and vigour are controlled

11. Merlot

12. Merlot
•Unripe Merlot will produce green characters, so canopies
should not be dense and shaded
•Merlot is often produced as a varietal wine or blended with
Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Malbec to
produce well balanced wines
•It can be spur or cane pruned and VSP is frequently used as
the trellis system
•It grows outwards as opposed to upright and straight
•Spur pruning will reduce yields but this is often desirable as
fruit thinning in cool climates is routine to ensure
maximum ripening
•Rootstocks such as 101-14, 3309, Schwarzmann and Riparia
Gloire which reduce vine vigour, are commonly used

13. Malbec

14. Malbec
•Malbec is a black variety with medium-sized
clusters and blue-black, largish berries that
produce wine with deep colour
•Malbec is often used as a varietal wine but is
more commonly blended with other varieties,
particularly Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon
•It can be grown on a wide range of soils and
ripens mid season

15. Malbec
•This variety is susceptible to disease
•Poor weather at flowering (reduced fruit set) and close
to harvest (susceptibility to disease) can have a serious
effect on Malbec
•Malbec can be cane or spur pruned
•When spur pruning, growers often leave longer spurs
(more than two nodes plus the basal bud) due to the
unfruitfulness of the lower buds on the cane
•In New Zealand, rootstocks such as 101-14, 3309 and
Schwarzmann which moderately reduce vine vigour,
are commonly used

16. • Pinot Noir is one of the oldest cultivated varieties
•This variety is grown for both table and sparkling wine
styles
•It is an early ripening variety with small, compact
clusters
•The berries are bluish-black with thick skins and
colourless juice
•The resulting wine from Pinot Noir is not as strongly
coloured as other red varieties.
•Pinot Noir suits cooler climates because at cooler
temperatures it produces table wines with more
intense flavour
Pinot Noir

17. Pinot Noir

18. •With table wine production, the vines may undergo intensive canopy
management in order to produce premium quality fruit
•This is particularly the case in very cool climates, such as Central Otago,
New Zealand, in order to achieve ripeness
•It will grow on a wide range of soils but soils that are free draining and
limit vigour are ideal
•Pinot Noir has a tendency to mutate and can produce shoots (known as
‘sports’), that are genetically different to the vine they are on
•Pinot Noir is frequently cane pruned and can be grown on rootstocks that
do not overly reduce vigour such as 101-14, 3309 and Schwarzmann
•In New Zealand, where the grapes are to be used as table wines, the vines
are cane pruned to two canes on a VSP trellis
•For sparkling wine production, 4 cane VSP or even Sylvos is used because
yields can be greatly increased as the level of ripeness needs to be lower
than for table wine
Pinot Noir

19. Syrah

20. Syrah
•Syrah was once thought to have originated
from the Persian city of Shiraz but genetic
identification work at UC Davis, California, has
shown it to be an old Rhone variety
•Syrah and Shiraz are the same variety but they
do represent different wine styles

21. Syrah
•This variety is able to be grown in cool climates
and like Cabernet Sauvignon, site selection is
most important due to the long growing season
that both Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah require
•Syrah grows well on sites that are hotter, north
facing (southern hemisphere) and which have
soils with low vigour potential
•Unlike Cabernet Sauvignon, if the variety is
unable to fully ripen then the flavour profile of
the wine is more peppery as opposed to green
and is still very palatable

22. Syrah
•It is a vigorous variety that can grow
erratically
•It can be spur or cane pruned
•Spur pruning will reduce yields but this is
often desirable as fruit thinning is frequently
performed to ensure maximum ripening
•Rootstocks such as 101-14, 3309
Schwarzmann and Riparia Gloire which reduce
vigour are commonly used

23. Chardonnay

24. Chardonnay
•Chardonnay is an early to mid-season ripening variety with green
skins and it suits a number of climates
•It is widely planted in New Zealand - because it is not a vigorous
variety, it can be grown on a very wide range of soils
•Berries and bunches will differ greatly in size, and flavour,
depending on the clone and in New Zealand there are a number of
clones which are used
•Some of the more recently introduced clones such as Clone UCD 15
and Clone 95, produce smaller, more compact bunches with smaller
berries
•In contrast, some of the older clones such as clone 4 and Rua 1
produce large bunches and berries and the fruit has less
concentration of flavour

25. Chardonnay
•These are more suitable for sparkling wine production
as opposed to table wine production
•This variety is most commonly cane pruned as the
nodes further along the cane contain the most fruitful
buds
•For quality wine production in New Zealand, 2 cane
VSP is frequently used
•For lower quality grapes, 4 cane VSP is common and
many growers adopt a Scott Henry system to increase
the quality of the fruit
• A range of rootstocks can be used to control vigour on
heavy soils such as 101-14 and 3309

26. Sauvignon Blanc

27. Sauvignon Blanc
•Sauvignon Blanc is a white aromatic variety
•Aromatic varieties contain terpenes which give a distinctive
floral aroma which is fresh and fruity when young, but is
volatile and changes with oxidation and aging
•Sauvignon Blanc produces moderate to large crops of
medium sized clusters and berries
•Clusters can be loose or tight depending on the clone
•It is an early ripening variety which makes it suitable for
cool climate production
•Sauvignon Blanc in cool climates produces distinctive
herbaceous flavours in the fruit such as gooseberry,
capsicum and cut grass

28. Sauvignon Blanc
•In cool climate regions such New Zealand, these
flavours have made the wine distinctive
•Sauvignon Blanc is a vigorous variety the grows
very erect and upright and is grown on a wide
variety of soils
•Furthermore, the variety can be grown across
varying soil types and still produce excellent
quality
•This is something that is virtually impossible with
other varieties

29. Sauvignon Blanc
•Uniform soil types within a single vineyard are
essential to get premium quality from even
ripening and flavour development
•But with Sauvignon Blanc, varying soil types can
add to complexity and flavour
• When this variety is grown in dryer or warmer
climates, the flavour spectrum moves towards
more tropical fruit flavours.
• This variety is highly susceptible to rain around
harvest when it can cause berry splitting and
disease

30. Sauvignon Blanc
•It is most commonly cane pruned as nodes
further along the cane have more fruitful buds
•In the Marlborough region of New Zealand,
the vine is very often grafted to SO4 rootstock
with each vine carrying 4 canes on two fruiting
wires
•Although SO4 rootstock is regarded as
invigorating, it suits the conditions and soil
types that this region has

31. Gewürztraminer

32. Gewürztraminer
•The German word Gewürz means “spice”
•This aromatic variety is a moderately vigorous variety that
produces medium to large crops of medium sized clusters
and berries
•The skins of this variety are light brown after veraison
•In New Zealand, the variety has a reputation for poor
setting, especially if poor weather occurs at flowering
•Poor setting causes ‘hen and chickens’, which is when the
bunch consists of both small and large berries and many
growers are frustrated that the variety only produces
reasonable crops every two years
•This has been improved by the importation of new clones
that set more consistently

33. Gewürztraminer
•Poor setting causes ‘hen and chickens’,

34. Gewürztraminer
•Also, growers often use trellis systems such as
Sylvos or 4 cane VSP that maximize the crop
level in order to achieve a satisfactory yield
•Like other white varieties, Gürztraminer can
grow on soil with a higher vigour potential
•This variety ripens early in the season and is
often picked to maximise flavour and not
sugar levels

35. Gewürztraminer
•For example, it can easily reach 24
o
Brix but will
be harvested at 22
o
Brix when the flavours are at
their best
•Gewürztraminer is susceptible to late season rot
•A range of rootstocks, such as 101-14 and 3309,
are used to control Phylloxera rather than vigour
• SO4 rootstock is often used but not where the
soil is lacking in magnesium due to the low
uptake of this element by this rootstock

36. Riesling

37. Riesling
•Riesling is an old white German variety, which when
grown in cool climates, can produce very good quality
wine
•It is an aromatic variety and is often grown for sweet
wines as well as table wines
•Riesling bunches are small and very compact and ripen
later in the season
•This leads to Riesling being susceptible to late season
disease and although it is not a vigorous variety, there
is a strong requirement for canopy management
techniques that open the canopy and allow air
movement and light interception

38. Riesling
•The variety is most commonly cane pruned as
the nodes further along the cane contain the
most fruitful buds
•A range of rootstocks can be used to control
vigour on heavy soils such as 101-14,
Schwarzmann and 3309

39. Pinot Gris

40. Pinot Gris
•Pinot Gris is a white variety which is a mutation of the red variety,
Pinot Noir
•Pinot Gris vines are moderate to low vigour, low-yielding, and early-
ripening
•The bunches and berries are small and clusters with a variety of
colours are common
•It can be grown on a range of soils but free draining loams are ideal
•The variety has good resistance to poor weather and disease
•The variety is most commonly cane pruned as the nodes further
along the cane contain the most fruitful buds
•A range of rootstocks can be used to control vigour on heavy soils
such as 101-14, Schwarzmann and 3309