Why does New Zealand Wine have such
Flavour, Balance and Complexity?

Because it's cold but not too cold.

Or, put another way, it's what winegrowers call a cool climate. For some varietals such as Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon this is not necessary and even problematic but for others such as Chardonnay, Riesling and Pinot Noir this slows down an otherwise early ripening.

Let's take Pinot Noir (of course). It is known as an "early maturing" grape, unlike say Cabernet Sauvignon which is a mid to late season maturing grape. By slowing down Pinot Noir ripening by growing in cool climate areas, the wine quality remarkably improves with better balance, and more aroma and flavour.

But let's get technical. Two wine production experts (Jackson and Shuster) put it this way,

"Hot conditions cause rapid development of sugars, rapid loss of acids and high pH levels. The rapid ripening means the grape (Pinot Noir) has insufficient time to accumulate those many chemical compounds which add distinction to a wine. A cool autumn temperature - often with considerable diurnal temperature variation - slows down development; better balances can be achieved and more aroma and flavour constituents are accumulated."

The cool climate allows Pinot Noir to ripen at a slow leisurely pace so the grapes build rich intensive fruit flavours.

And New Zealand is one of only a few cool climate grape growing areas in the world, as seen by the world map below showing the limited latitude in which wine can be grown and how far south NZ is.

There are other reasons as well why the wine is such high quality, to do with the climate, the vineyards and the winemaking. Read more about the most extreme, on the edge, cool climate area in New Zealand - Central Otago.