The names associated with the birth of many of today’s companies – Babich, Brajkovich, Corban, Nobilo, Yukich among others – came from around this region. The companies they built up have since become part of an industry that is flourishing over most of the length of the country.

The European origins of many of the pioneers shaped the early development of the industry.

Then in later years the New Zealand wine industry has been influenced by the experience of travellers who wanted to emulate the lifestyles and tastes they had seen overseas, such as Goldwaters did on Waiheke.

It is the sort of industry that attracts people – farmers, scientists, accountants – who have a dream making liquid poetry.

These people have turned wine into a major success story in a very short time.

New Zealand has seen spectacular growth in wine production over the last 10 years. Exports by value and volume have increased approximately 6-fold since 1994. They continue to break records each year.

Export sales are about to overtake sales in the domestic market.

The key to this has been quality and finding a niche. New Zealand companies have concentrated on varieties and styles that consumers want. And they have worked hard on keeping up quality.

This has paid off in terms of value. I believe New Zealand’s wine exports currently command the highest average value per litre, though I am sure some of our New World friends would like to steal that position from us.

New Zealand has not been the only place to enjoy success.

New world producers have shaken up the wine world since the 1970s.

That is not an accident. There is tremendous diversity among the new world wine regions. But you hear some common themes.

New world producers have been successful in crafting wines that appeal to the palate of a new consumer.

The labels – a subject close to the hearts of this group – typically give the consumer more useful information. Varietal labelling has been a big factor in this.

These features, along with value and consistent quality, have made new world wines very popular in places where wine was not a longstanding part of the culture.

What is more telling is that new world wines have also developed their position in established markets of the “old world”.

The picture is not completely rosy.

Globally wine production continues to outpace consumption. That is making life tough for producers in some parts of the world.

Finding new markets and preserving access to our current markets is a challenge for all members of this group.

Certainly the future growth and prosperity of the New Zealand wine industry depends on export markets.

The flow is by no means one way: we import a lot of wine, three quarters of it from other World Wine Trade Group countries represented at this meeting (US, Canada, Chile, Argentina, and Australia).

Others in this group are major importers as well as exporters.

The United States now imports around 40% of its wine from new world countries, mainly Chile and Australia. Canada is the largest purchaser and retailer of wine and spirits in the world.

Consumers in our markets and other markets want to see good foreign wines on the shelf. They want to be able to buy a Californian zinfandel or a Chilean carmenere or a Marlborough sauvignon blanc.

Winemakers here are keen to give them what they want.

We can’t take it for granted that those consumers will be given the choice. We face barriers to trade.

We have already seen wine labelling being used as a barrier in the form of the European Union regulation 753.

We have a collective interest in preserving market access and preventing technical regulations from being used to restrict trade. That is why agreements such as the Mutual Acceptance Agreement of Oenological Practices and the current negotiations on the wine labelling agreement are so important.

We had some limited success in winding back regulation 753. But there will be further challenges in Europe and in other markets.

This group will need to keep caucusing on ways of resisting impediments to wine trade.

Over time, industries will only survive if they evolve. Wine is no exception. One of the strengths of this group is that we are open to innovation.

That has certainly been the spirit of the New Zealand Industry. Winemakers here were quick to adapt stainless steel technology from our dairy industry. They also embraced the stelven or screwcap ahead of many others very early. Kumeu River, who I mentioned earlier, was one of the first to use this form of closure on their wines. They managed the transition without any effect on their sales.

We would not want to see this type of innovation stifled by prescriptive rules such as those we have seen coming out of Europe.

New Zealand’s wine companies are privately owned and funded and must be able to respond to market signals.

We need to keep thinking ahead. We should be asking ourselves, for example, what the World Wine Trade Group needs to do in Asia.

Japan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand are all going to be important markets in the future. They have consumer societies with growing appreciation for the quality that new world wines can offer. We need to capitalise on these market opportunities.

So let’s think about what we can do to encourage these markets to follow a liberal and less prescriptive model for wine access and regulation.

The adage goes that winemaking is easy – it is just the first 200 years that are difficult.