New Zealand’s reputation for fine Pinot Noir has gone from strength to strength in recent years and, given the variety’s reputation as one of the more difficult wines to make, this is something to celebrate.
The four day Pinot Noir 2010 event held recently in Wellington was a blend of international wine critics, buyers and writers tasting the best New Zealand wine and cuisine, with discussions around branding, sustainability and my topic, Love. I offered some ideas to help New Zealand Pinot Noir continue to attract premium margins in a competitive furnace.
In short, to play the super-premium Lovemarks game, the industry needs to make more than the highest quality wine. We need to make wines that are bigger than a brand; create priceless offerings of creativity, storytelling and magic; and dream infusions of mystery, sensuality and intimacy from the shelf back not simply the fruit forward.
None of us is as strong as all of us together. I made the case for the New Zealand government to pop the cork on a creative global trade brand for not only wine, but music, film, fashion and food – all of our creative industries. ‘Made by New Zealanders’ has to carry with it a pulsing emotional charge.
And small wine businesses – to thrive not just survive – need to catapult themselves into global consciousness using the mass participation platforms of the Consumer Revolution.
New Zealand Pinot Noir is not just about the wine, it’s about the people who make it, love it and share it to the power of millions.
