Posted By Peter

WELLINGTON, Feb 19 (Reuters) - New Zealand winemakers are expecting a bumper, high quality harvest this year, putting the industry on track for record export earnings, an industry group said on Tuesday.

New Zealand Winegrowers said the grape harvest had just started and was expected to be as much as 245,000 tonnes, up 20 percent on last year from increased plantings.

“As a result of the strong demand, many leading wineries are now experiencing supply constraints with key varieties and they are eagerly looking forward to a larger vintage,” said chief executive Philip Gregan.

He said the quality of the vintage was also expected to be better than last year.

“The grapes have benefited from the prolonged period of dry weather over the summer, and at this stage the prospects for a high quality vintage appear very good.”

New Zealand produces less than 0.5 percent of global wine output and about 1 percent of world exports, but is a prominent “New World” wine maker. It is regarded as a world leader in the sauvignon blanc and pinot noir varieties.

The industry has targeted the premium wine market and earned NZ$761 million ($604 million) from exports last year. It has forecast exports of NZ$1 billion by 2010.

In January, Majestic Wine Plc (MJW.L: Quote, Profile, Research), Britain’s largest wine warehouse chain, credited a “tremendous enthusiasm” for New Zealand wines, in part, for a 4.1 percent rise in pre-Christmas sales.

The number of New Zealand wine makers has doubled to more than 500 over the past decade, many of which are small boutique producers.

Production is dominated by Montana and Corbans, units of France’s Pernod Ricard (PERP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), while the world’s largest winemaker Constellation Brands (STZ.N: Quote, Profile, Research) owns the Nobilo brand. The largest local listed producer is Delegat’s Group (DGL.NZ: Quote, Profile, Research). ($1=NZ$1.26) (Reporting by Gyles Beckford)