Gibbston is a wine-producing district just east of the tourist resort town of Queenstown in New Zealand's Central Otago wine region. The vineyards sit high above the Kawarau River in a spectacular gorge, enjoying the benefits of sunshine and high altitude. The red wines made here from Pinot Noir are among Central Otago's most elegant and are more supple and restrained than their Bendigo and Bannockburn counterparts.
The Kawarau Gorge cuts 15 miles (25km) eastward into the mountains from Queenstown on the edge of Lake Wakatipu. The Kawarau River that carved the gorge over thousands of years flows through Gibbston on its way to Lake Dunstan near Lowburn and Bannockburn. Gibbston's vineyard area covers the southern side of the river, where vines stretch up the sunny northern slopes of the Remarkables mountain range.
© Claire Adamson
Gibbston has a rich gold-mining history, and like many of Central Otago's wine regions was settled in the 1860s by transient migrants in search of the valuable mineral. The Kawarau River was an important source of gold, and also made a good passage for miners on their way to Queenstown and Arrowtown. After the gold dried up, the area was a part of the Waitaki sheep station and was occupied by a considerable population of merino sheep for many years. It wasn't until the 1970s and 1980s that pioneering growers began to see the potential of the area for premium viticulture and began buying land along the edge of the gorge.
Gibbston is Central Otago's coolest and wettest sub-region, and as a result has one of the longest growing seasons in Otago. Vineyards lie between 1000 and 1600ft (300-500m) above sea level, making this Central Otago's (and New Zealand's) highest-altitude wine region. Warm, clear days are followed by cold nights, slowing ripening overnight and letting the grapes develop flavor complexity over a longer period of time while retaining acidity. This extended growing season has its challenges, too – autumn frosts can severely damage the harvest in some vintages.
The schist-based soils in Gibbston have proved excellent for the Pinot Noir, Riesling and Chardonnay vines that grow along the gorge. Thin, wind-blown loams cover a deep base of alluvial gravel, which drains rapidly and is low in nutrients. The highly permeable soils make it easy for the vines to grow deep root systems to get to the water further down in the soil. This promotes vine health and strength while reducing vigor, and the grapes produced by these vines have an excellent concentration of sugars and acids.
Gibbston's natural beauty and close proximity to Queenstown have made it an obvious destination for wine tourism. However, wine lovers must share the region with thrillseekers: Kawarau Gorge is the base for a thriving 'extreme sport' industry and is the spiritual home of the modern-day bungee jump.
