The use of gold rush nostalgia on wine labels: brief history of New Zealand's Central Otago wine region

Abstract

Central Otago's landscape was transformed by miners in the 1860s, seeking riches from the streams, hills and riverbeds, while some early pioneers experimented with planting vineyards. When the gold ran out, wine was forgotten and farming, stonefruit and tourism took over, but in the early 1980s a new transformation began as vintners realised that classic 'terroir' conditions of Burgundy, Champagne and Bavaria were emulated in the dusty Otago countryside. Rabbit-blighted, barren sheep farms were planted in verdant vineyards, and Central Otago wines became famed for their quality, but by the mid-2000s, some winemakers began to look backwards to set themselves apart in the their marketing endeavours, rediscovering their golden past. Beginning with a summary of how and why the region developed its wine story, this chapter examines the process whereby Central Otago vineyards are exploiting nostalgia for the province's golden heritage to market their wine and discussed their efforts and motivations for employing elements of popular culture to create a romantic, myth-laden past on which to create brand identity and market segmentation.