While farmers struggle to cope with dry conditions on much of the eastern side of the country, it has the makings of a classic year for red wines.
Chief executive of Te Mata Estate in Hawke's Bay, Nicholas Buck, said the summer conditions are similar to the 2013 drought which produced some outstanding wines.
"Particularly for fuller-bodied red wines, which are such a strong feature of Hawke's Bay's wine economy. These are wines which require water stress in the middle of summer and then as the grapes are changing colour. It's absolutely crucial that we get dry soils at that period and then nice dry conditions right through until after harvest in the autumn.
"The grapes are going though colour change right now and we're certainly seeing some dry conditions at the moment and have for the last number of weeks."
The Te Mata Estate's, 2013 Coleraine red wine, produced in those ideal drought conditions, is due for release in a couple of weeks.
