Despite economic difficulties faced by many vineyard owners, one winemaker is continuing to fetch high prices for his product.
Dr Antonio Pasquale, comes from an Italian family that has been in the wine industry for 200 years.
He has vineyards in Auckland and South Canterbury and is also a sheep and beef farmer.
He says his wine is holding its premium price, and he has trouble meeting demand, especially for export.
Dr Pasquale says a key element of his success is the authenticity of his wine, and that it is demonstrably a single vineyard product.
He believes the problems facing the industry are the result of greedy winemakers who have industrialised wine production and are now forced to sell bulk wine below the cost of production.
Antonio Pasquale says mass production of wine can never have a place in New Zealand because it is too small and cannot compete with the old world wine countries of Italy, Spain and France.
He thinks the wine industry will eventually recover, but only when producers change their focus to quality, and accept the fact that production must be reduced.
Dr Pasquale says the industry also needs to stop allowing up to 15% of grapes used to produce a bottle of wine to come from another vineyard, or another country.
