Editorial: Goodbye 2024
OPINION: In two weeks we'll bid farewell to 2024. Dubbed by some as the toughest season in a generation, many farmers would be happy to put the year behind them.
But as I woke to frost fans and helicopters in the early hours of this Marlborough morning, September 18, it seems timely to look to the vines.
The frost was "particularly evil" due to the amount of time below zero, says Zephyr Wines' Ben Glover, who had a big night of frost fighting before heading to Organic Wine Week events in Wellington. While Marlborough's Sauvignon Blanc was yet to burst, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were seven to 10 days early, emerging a few weeks before the cold front. Hawke's Bay "dodged a bullet", says Darren Chatterton, Viticulturist at Alpha Domus in the Bridge Pa subegion. But with Chardonnay budburst starting at the beginnig of September, 10 days earlier than a typical season, it was "a nervous time watching that front coming through". Down in Central Otago, where spring has brought plenty of snow and "brutally cold" conditions, viticulturist James Dicey is grateful they've not hit budburst. "This little cool spell will hopefully slow them down for a week or two."
Now the sun is out, and the choppers have landed, so back to Altogether Unique 2024. The two-day event celebrated successes and shared knowledge and experience, from Indevin's Jason Cook on data capture in the winery, to Yabble's Rachel O'Shea on the opportunities of artificial intelligence. "If you are on the edge you have to go edgy stuff," marketing legend Kevin Roberts told the audience, urging a combination of creativity and innovation. He highlighted three key opportunities for New Zealand wine, including leveraging wine tourism, "making Marlborough magical", and tapping into the potential of the low/no alcohol market.
New Zealand has already made big strides in that realm, thanks to the unified work behind the Lighter Wine Programme. We also have an edge from shared environmental initiatives and imperatives, driven by Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand for the past 30 years, and now enhanced with the Roadmap to Net Zero 2050, launched at Altogether Unique. Climate change and its impacts, including early budburst, are surely the biggest challenge yet. I hope New Zealand's wine industry, as a united force, can provide inspiration for the rest of the world.
Sophie Preece
EDITOR
