Growing on the edge: Wine tasting in the southernmost wine region of the world

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Filed under: History, Learning, Food and Drink, Oceania, New Zealand, Luxury Travel

On a morning in which I had no intention of drinking alcohol (yes, morning) I somehow found myself having a glass of what has officially been called the best wine in the entire world.

This is what happens when you take road trips, you stumble upon things. In this particular instance I happened to stumble upon a region I originally had little intention of exploring, only to find out it's one of the most notable up and coming wine regions according to those in the know.

At 45°S latitude, the Central Otago region of New Zealand is officially the southernmost wine region on planet Earth, geographically besting out the wine regions of Chile by a fairly healthy 8 degree margin. The only reason I happened to drive through Central Otago is because of a free campsite located by a nearby river, but after walking through the front door of Aurum Winery at a liver-shaking 10am, an unplanned afternoon of viticulture was suddenly thrust upon me.

Lucie, a French woman with a charming French/Kiwi command of the English accent and the principal winemaker for Aurum, informed me that although Otago receives a healthy dose of winter, during the colder months the grapes are still sleeping and won't freeze until temperatures of -20°C (-4°F). Seeing as Otago will only reach around -10°C (14°F) during the winter, the grapes are able to continue their growth before budding sometime during the spring.

Frost, Lucie admits, is definitely a problem once the grapes have formed, and wineries in the Central Otago region employ frost-fighting wind machines to project warm air layers onto to the fragile crop. Seeing as Aurum was voted as the best winery in New Zealand by the Corporate Events Guide for the past 2 years running, an award that Lucie admits is a bit like David versus Goliath (Aurum only puts out a modest 4000 cases/year), it's apparent they have a handle on what they're doing down here in Otago.

Gallery: Wine tasting Central Otago New Zealand