Organic Winegrowers New Zealand is proud to announce the first annual Organic Wine Week from September 17-23, 2018. The week incorporates the Southern Hemisphere spring equinox, a time to celebrate the gifts of nature.
Growers’ association Organic Winegrowers New Zealand is collaborating with the finest restaurants and retailers to craft a week of engaging events celebrating organic wines. Events will run across New Zealand and Europe and will be consumer-focused. Organic Wine Week will showcase the impressive number and calibre of New Zealand organic wine producers, with events designed to help consumers understand – and taste – why choosing organic wine is great for both them and our landscapes.
Organic producers occupy a growing place in New Zealand’s wine industry. More than 10% of NZ wineries now hold organic certification, including many of the country’s most acclaimed wine labels. Certified organic growers work to create a balanced vineyard ecosystem, creating great wines without the use of synthetic chemicals in the vineyard or winery.
Many winemakers and restaurateurs are now choosing organic for a combination of reasons, primarily environmental ethics and the wine quality that results.
“There has been a huge shift towards organic wine on our wine list which has naturally been brought about I think by a huge culture and societal shift taking place of ‘quality over quantity’,” says Nick van Haarlem, Beverage Manager at Shepherd in Wellington, one of the acclaimed NZ restaurants that will host Organic Wine Week events. “The localised sense of place, the complexity and expressive nature of these wines, supported by the less harmful environmental impact were all huge factors in that transition. It is the way of the future.”
More than 35 organic wineries will participate in live events for Organic Wine Week. Several of New Zealand’s top restaurants will host dinners with organic winemakers sharing their wines in person.
A list of Organic Wine Week events is online at www.organicwinenz.com/organic-wine-week. In addition to winemaker dinners, public events will include consumer organic wine tastings and seminars.
