Viv Milsom’s Sunday dinners growing up in Dunedin were often accompanied by a glass of wine. Her father, a wine and spirit merchant, would often bring home imported wines to taste. Before New Zealand wines were on the map - or even being made - the only way to get a good wine was to drink the imported varieties.

Viv has spent the past ten years living in Wanaka working as a freelance writer, after beginning her professional career as a television and radio news journalist and later moving into secondary school education. The return to Wanaka and writing (Viv visited for ski holidays as a child) also drew Viv back to wine - and she’s just written a book all about it. But instead of imported wines, the book celebrates the wines made right here in Central Otago.

The Vineyards of Central Otago: A Passion for Winemaking on the Edge, is Viv’s first book. The luxurious hardback coffee table book tells the stories of Central Otago’s vineyards, and the people whose passion for the industry has made the region a wine destination.

“We’re a tiny little place at the end of the world but in just over 30 years these guys have established this global reputation,” Viv said. The early pioneers started in Gibbston, Alexandra and Wanaka, and “when they started they really had no idea what would grow”.

There are now nearly 2,000 hectares of vines in the region (78 percent of which are growing pinot grapes) and 130 wineries, and Central Otago wines are winning top awards internationally.

Not bad for a place - the southernmost wine region in the world - that didn’t start growing wine until the 1970s.

From start to finish, the book (published by Penguin Random House) was a 12 month process. “It was a fantastic journey, and it was a steep learning curve too,” Viv said.

“When I took my concept of the book to them, they were immediately enthusiastic. It doesn’t happen very often in life, but sometimes you do just get green lights. When Penguin Random House say yes to you, you don’t go anywhere else.”

She teamed up with Wanaka-based photographer Mike Wilkinson to capture the visual beauty the wine-growing region has to offer.

“The last book that looked at the Central Otago wine growing region as a whole was in about 2000: I wanted this book to be an overview, and a celebration, of the wine region. It’s a region that not only has beautiful wine, but has also marketed itself very successfully.”

Choosing which 21 vineyards to feature was one of the most difficult tasks for Viv, who decided in the end to pick methodically, by covering each of the six wine sub-regions: Gibbston, Alexandra and Wanaka, and Lowburn/Pisa, Bendigo and Bannockburn (the last three are all in the Cromwell Basin).

“We also wanted to cover winegrowers that had skin in the game,” Viv said, “and look at different models of ownership.”

The result is a selection of some of the best in the region.

Choosing the concept and getting a publisher was just the beginning, but Viv found herself wondering how the wine growers would react to her wanting to write about them. She needn’t have worried.

“Everyone was so generous with their time and sharing their stories. There are so many passionate people that work damn hard doing what they love.”

When Viv isn’t writing, she enjoys soaking up the best of the Central Otago lifestyle by playing golf, skiing and walking in the hills near her home with her chocolate lab, Fudge. Viv also likes travelling and spending time with her family - she’s recently returned from a trip to London to visit a new grandson.

The Vineyards of Central Otago: A Passion for Winemaking on the Edge will be available from October 1 and the launch will be held on October 10 at Rippon Hall. Tickets are available at Paper Plus Wanaka.

PHOTO: Supplied