Devastation in New Zealand

The devastation was evident on the North Island in New Zealand after cyclone Gabrielle tore through last week, with flooding and mudslides wreaking havoc in two wine-producing regions. Wine producers in the Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne regions of New Zealand face power cuts and water shortages as they prepare for the 2023 harvest in the cyclone-ravaged regions, this after weeks of flooding due to heavy rains at the end of January. 

MetService described Cyclone Gabrielle as one of the worst storms to hit New Zealand in living history. Hawkes Bay received three times the amount of rain in one night than it usually would during the whole month of February. Many vines were completely submerged during the cyclone, just weeks before the start of the grape harvest. The extent of the damage won’t be known for some time, with communications and access to some vineyards still cut off by high waters and landslides. It could take weeks to get power and communications back up and running. 

Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne are New Zealand’s second- and third-largest wine-producing regions respectively, yielding a combined 60,000 tonnes in 2022 and accounting for 12% of the vintage.