Page 4 - Demo

Chair’s Report
Perhaps more than any other year in recent times, this was a year of two halves.
During the first half of the year the industry celebrated its past, and looked ahead with optimism. The second half reminded us just how unpredictable the world can be, how crucial it is to plan for the unexpected, and react with agility when the unexpected arrives.
In September we celebrated the 200th anniversary of the day on which the very first grape vines
were planted into New Zealand
soils, by Reverend Samuel Marsden
at Kerikeri in the Bay of Islands.
Over 100 winegrowers and others commemorated the milestone with an event at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds and a ceremony at the historic Stone Store at Kerikeri, where a new vine was planted to mark the beginning
of the next 200 years.
This was a chance to acknowledge many of the industry’s pioneers, and reflect on the difficult journey from colonial outpost through six o’clock closing, to painful economic reforms, and ultimately to a
thriving New Zealand wine industry where - every second of everyday - 80 glasses of its distinctive wine are sold somewhere in the world.
A milestone was reached in February, with the opening of the Bragato Research Institute’s Research Winery. This new facility provides us a base from which to set the national research agenda, trial world-first technologies, conduct commercial trials, and connect educators and students to science and industry. Our major levy-funded research projects focus on sustainability (through our vineyard ecosystems pest & disease project), diversification (through our lighter wines project) and quality (through our Pinot Noir project).
A potential new project to develop new more resilient Sauvignon Blanc vines is under development.
But these positive notes cannot obscure the turmoil that the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has inflicted since it hit the world.
In New Zealand, we were privileged to be able to complete our grape harvest as “essential businesses”, but the effort and stress involved in doing so safely was high. Our total 2020 harvest of 457,000 tonnes reflects the near perfect growing conditions experienced in most of the country, and a 2% increase in planted area
to 39,935 hectares. The successful harvest was good news for growers who have only one opportunity each year to generate the income to carry them through the next 12 months.
For wineries, the impact on sales
of the lockdown and the COVID-19 response has been highly variable. Positively, for those wineries whose focus is on supermarket and ‘big’ retail channels, sales have increased. This reflects the positive reputation that New Zealand wines have with consumers and retailers.
For other wine businesses the story is more challenging. Physical distancing measures have either halted or significantly slowed on-premise u
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NZW 200 YEARS CELEBRATION