2009 in New Zealand looks set fair to be an outstanding wine vintage, helped by very dry conditions in the weeks leading up to the harvest. Winter rains had given the soil plenty of water reserves, and although February was generally cool, slightly delaying the ripening process, a warm and rain-free March and early April enabled the grapes to reach perfect maturity.

Quality seems even across most wine regions, with both Marlborough and Martinborough reporting wonderful aromatic purity, and fine, concentrated flavours.

In Hawkes Bay wine producers of Bordeaux-style wines benefitted from the late harvest to achieve an impressive level of tannin maturity in their reds.