Central Otago
Continental
The world's southernmost wine region, a high, dry, continental basin of schist where Pinot Noir is the star.
Overview
About Central Otago
Central Otago sits at about 45°S in the rain shadow of the Southern Alps, in a dramatic landscape of schist hills and glacial lakes that was first transformed by the 1860s gold rush. Its modern wine industry began in the 1970s, and Pinot Noir now makes up most of plantings, with Pinot Gris, Riesling and Chardonnay behind it.
The main subregions are Gibbston, Bannockburn, Cromwell Basin, Bendigo, Alexandra and Wanaka. The wines are typically dark-fruited, perfumed and structured, and often more powerful than Pinot Noirs from cooler regions.
Central Otago is marked on the map.
New Zealand
Shaded: Otago. Map units are states, provinces or départements, so a smaller place appears as the larger area that contains it.
The land
Climate & terroir
Climate
Continental
New Zealand's only truly continental wine climate: hot, dry summers with a wide day-night range, cold winters, high UV, and a constant frost risk that makes site selection vital.
Terroir & soils
What the vines grow in
Glacial and alluvial deposits of schist origin, along with wind-blown loess, generally low in fertility.
Go deeper
Rules, years & producers
Central Otago is a single registered region, divided into informal sub-regions, and has no quality classification.
Central Otago GI
At least 85% of the grapes must come from the region.
Sub-regions
Gibbston, Bannockburn, Cromwell Basin, Bendigo, Alexandra and Wanaka, differing in altitude and warmth.
No quality tiers
Quality is judged by the producer and the vineyard.
What's grown here
Grapes
Each grape's page links back here.