Winemaker a 'role model for women'

Marlborough winemaker Jane Hunter is still breaking new ground with exports reaching Spain, Slovakia and the Ukraine, and she has her eye on new territory such as Norway despite the global economic slowdown.

Her wines are even being sipped 135 metres above the streets of London.

One of the stars of the Kiwi wine business, Mrs Hunter was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to viticulture, as managing director of Hunter's Wines for more than 20 years.

Mrs Hunter thinks she got her New Year Honour because she is a role model for women in the business, rather than the run of award-winning wines. She regularly talks to women around the country about the opportunities in the wine industry from grape-growing and winemaking to marketing and business aspects.

Her wines, including sauvignon blanc and bubbly, are exported around the world including to Britain, Ireland, Switzerland, Denmark, Australia and the United States.

New Zealand's international reputation was still great, especially for Marlborough sauvignon blanc, she said.

"The fear is we don't want to ruin that reputation by downing the price and the quality," she said yesterday. That had happened in Australia and it was now a struggle for them to lift prices again. While Hunter's tries to avoid cutting the price on its main label, Mrs Hunter said: "It is not easy [to avoid discounting] at the moment."

On the export front, Hunter's was now selling small amounts to Spain, Slovakia and Ukraine, but she hoped to grow from the small beginnings.

"There are places like Norway that take hardly any New Zealand wine there are so many untapped markets," she said, though some were not easy to get into because of government controls.

In something of a coup, Hunter's wine will also soon be tasted on the London Eye, the giant ferris wheel for tourists in the central city, which rises to 135 metres above the city. "It is a fantastic opportunity," she said.

Hunter's wines have won more than 100 awards at national and international competitions, including best sauvignon blanc in the world in 1992 at an international competition.

Hunter's have aimed for the European, Asian and Australian markets, with less attention on the United States.

"But the US is our biggest worry at the moment. They just don't have the confidence to re-order in our price range."

The British and Asian markets held up well going into Christmas, but Mrs Hunter is heading to Britain soon to check on the market herself, with some signs of caution at present. "It will be interesting to see what will happen in the next three to six months."

All 600 or so New Zealand wine companies face a challenging time, given the boom in numbers in recent years, but there was a concerted effort to keep quality up and the volume under control. Total exports were worth almost $800 million in the past year to June.

Mrs Hunter expected some rationalisation in the industry in the next few years, with a more normal vintage where winemakers will not need to buy in extra grapes. "It will be a more challenging time."

- © Fairfax NZ News