Chancers and Visionaries

Though New Zealand's wine industry is one of the most vital of the New World wine regions, very little is known of its history. It is a dramatic and engaging narrative, where Temperance movements allay with an aggressive beer industry to squash a thriving wine sector, and the pushback by Catholic priests to preserve it. In this carefully researched, evocatively told history, well-known wine writer Keith Stewart uncovers the fascinating story of wine in this country and highlights the remarkable characters who believed in it and whose passion drove it forward, even in its darkest decades.