New Zealand wine is incredibly diverse, with a high quality standard across its wonderfully diverse terrain — but you might not know it if you live in most of the United States. Dwarfed by the... Read More

New Zealand wine is incredibly diverse, with a high quality standard across its wonderfully diverse terrain — but you might not know it if you live in most of the United States. Dwarfed by the juggernaut that is Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc, the rest of the wines made in this staggeringly beautiful, small and far-away country can often be hard for Americans to find and harder to taste. 
 
So you'd need to pay attention to know that over the last couple of decades, Kumeu River has become one of the Southern Hemisphere's most critically acclaimed producers — all without associating itself with New Zealand's flagship grape, or even the country's best-known regions. 

If you love Chardonnay, Kumeu River needs to be on your short list, even if you normally stick to Burgundy. (And if you happen to know anyone who's spent time in the Master of Wine program, they're painfully aware of this resemblance: the examiners are quite fond of putting Kumeu River wines next to Burgundy and creating mayhem on the Master of Wine exam as students try —and often fail — to determine which is which.)

Kumeu River was founded by the Brajkovich family, Croatian immigrants who purchased the property in 1944, and is now headed by winemaker Michael Brajkovich, New Zealand's first Master of Wine, as it happens. Kumeu River is situated not in Marlborough or Central Otago but rather in Auckland, in its own Kumeu subregion. The 30-hectare site has a soil base of sandstone with a clay overlay, holding water handily enough that there's no need for irrigation. Trellising is lyre-style, optimizing light exposure, and all harvesting is done by hand. Like its stylistic inspiration, Kumeu River produces both "village-level" and single-vineyard expressions.