The light is often so strong it can hurt your eyes, even on cloudy days.
Colors are dazzlingly bright.
The golden, sheltered bays of the East coast and the vast, black-sand, windswept beaches of the West coast lie within a short distance of each other. The country s cool maritime climate has a major influence on the taste and structure of the wines, which have bright, fresh, fruity flavors and crisp acidity as a result of a long, cool ripening period. The country s wine regions are mostly situated on the drier eastern seaboard. Different harvest dates illustrate the influence of latitude on the country s wine regions. On the North Island, the Gisborne region s Chardonnay harvest begins in early March, while in Central Otago, the first Chardonnay grapes are harvested six or seven weeks later.