Salvation is at hand for worshippers of Antipodean Pinot Noir. The "Pinot Noir grail" is to be found in Central Otago, writes British wine expert Jancis Robinson in the latest "World Atlas of Wine."

Central where?

Until recently, Central Otago, in New Zealand's South Island, was known only to "Lord of the Rings" fanatics (the Lothlorien and Golden Plains scenes were filmed there) and wool fetishists (a renegade sheep that had been hiding in the region's mountain caves for the last six years was recently captured and shorn on live television of its 27 kg of accumulated merino wool).