Autumn Vineyard Courtesy of Pegasus Bay.
Christchurch | South Island was thrilled to be accepted as a member to the Great Wine Capitals (GWC) Global Network at the end of 2009.
The network was founded in Bordeaux, France ten years ago with a goal of bringing together cities that are gateways to internationally-renowned wine regions to enhance their economic, education, and tourism projects.
Only one city per country can be accepted into the Network, and that city must also represent an internationally-recognised wine region, have an international airport and have an academic institution that specialises in wine science.
Until last year, there were eight members, including; Bilbao/Rioja (Spain), Bordeaux (France), Cape Town (South Africa), Florence (Italy), Mainz (Germany), Mendoza (Argentina), Porto (Portugal) and SanFrancisco/Napa Valley (USA).
In early 2009, the network was seeking a new member and the Christchurch City Council saw this as an opportunity to promote Christchurch and its surrounding South Island wine regions on a global platform.
The Council, in conjunction with Canterbury Development Corporation and Christchurch and Canterbury Tourism, consulted with the five South Island wine regions of Nelson, Marlborough, Canterbury, Central Otago, and Waipara Valley and an application was submitted shortly after in June 2009.
Following a visit from the network’s decision making panel, Christchurch | South Island officially became the ninth Great Wine Capital of the world.
A Great Wine Capitals Conference and AGM is hosted by the different capitals, with this year’s conference to be held in Christchurch at the end of October 2010. The conference is entitled Wine Discovery New Zealand 2010 and registrations are now open.
Christchurch / South Island’s membership to the GWC global network will provide a means to build on the excellent reputation of our wine regions in order to attract more visitors to, and economic interest in, our region - and in Christchurch specifically as the gateway to the Southern New Zealand wine regions.
In addition, the Network provides a means to promote internationally the cutting-edge sustainability credentials of the South Island’s wine regions – an increasingly important factor as consumers become more conscious of their product’s carbon footprint.
South Island wines and tourism destinations are already being marketed with great success overseas, but there are real benefits in working together across the region to produce even better results. The network offers access to eight other significant economies that are interested in tourism, wine science, wine tourism and wine in general.
