The indigenous reimagining of wine in Aotearoa New Zealand
In a recent article on the International Wine and Spirit Competition Club Oenologique’s website, there is a thoughtful piece written by Chris Howard on how the Aotearoa New Zealand’s wine industry is recognising Māori, our language and culture, and how it is changing the industry and leading its producers to explore new approaches to wine.
In line with the country’s wider push to recognise Māori culture, a sea change is underway that is pushing the boundaries of the wine world.
The article highlights five Māori wine producers and illustrates how some are navigating the experiments across worlds that began as soon as Europeans arrived on the land already inhabited by Māori. Despite the current momentum, many are saying this is only the beginning.
An important development was the formation of TUKU in 2018, a Māori winegrowing collective that came out of Poutama’s cuisine cluster and with members spanning Hawke’s Bay to Central Otago.
Despite different iwi affiliations, these Māori-owned wineries are united by a common set of cultural values that revolve around kaitiakitanga (the preservation and protection of nature), whakapapa (ancestry), whānau, and a sense of manaakitanga (generosity and hospitality).
Poutama’s strategic focus on kai (food) and inu (drink) for over a decade has seen first hand how Māori can succeed when working as a collective toward a common goal.
To read the full article click here.
