Hop plants (Humulus lupulus) can be seen throughout the Motueka area in spring and summer, strung onto overhead wires. The hop bines are encouraged to grow along the wires and in late summer, the flowers of the female plants are harvested. No, that “bine” isn’t a typo, the term is used for vines that sends their shoots climbing over a support in a helical fashion, as opposed to the tendril/sucker system used by plain old “vines”. There are over 100 varieties of hops grown around the world, with 20 of those grown in New Zealand. Plant and Food Research works with industry to develop new varieties. The flowers in this photo are one of the NZ-developed varieties, Nelson Sauvin, which was released in 2000. It has a strong, complex flavour profile that requires considerable skill to keep its aromatic oils from overwhelming the palate. It’s a popular, versatile variety often used for IPA- and APA-style hoppy beers.
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