As a country, we're a humble bunch. There's a whakatauki ` kaore te kumara and korero mo tona ake reka, which basically means don't blow your own trumpet, but that doesn't mean that others can't. I'm going to explore the success of Maori exporting all around the world, from America, all across Asia, the UK,... throughout Europe to the Middle East. Nau mai ki Gate To The Globe. Captions by Faith Hamblyn. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2018. Kei America tatou. New York City, the city that never sleeps ` home to 8 million people, the most famous city in America, maybe the world. But it's some lesser-known stories that we're interested in, namely ` tennis balls,... (LAUGHS) Sorry, dude! ...socks,... This guy's a pro over here! Whoo! ...oysters and wine,... Like you're eating the ocean. ...which all have one thing in common ` That is so good. They're exported from Aotearoa from the US, and they all have a Maori connection. This is Pakihiroa Farm, a Ngati Porou station here at the base of their maunga, Mt Hikurangi. This place, also known as 'kei te aha' country, was the first farm in New Zealand to cross-breed a special kind of sheep, and that special kind of sheep has some special kind of wool, wool that's made it all the way to the largest activewear company in the United States, which is Smartwool. And the dude who's gonna tell me all about that is Hilton. Kei te aha? Kei te pai. Kei to pai. Welcome to Pakihiroa. Pleasure to be here. Are gonna go meet these sheep? Let's go and check some sheep out, shall we? Can I get a helmet like yours? (BOTH LAUGH) Let's go. Hilton, this farm, it's on your maunga. How cool is that? Oh, it's very cool for us, when it was returned to us some 20 years ago, to be able to have a farm that helps and supports Hikurangi, and then also of course being the headwaters for the Tapuaeroa River, it becomes part of the Hikurangi te maunga waipu te awa ko Ngati Porou te iwi. For the longest time, no one ever thought about breeding merino wool on the North Island, but that's all kind of changed. So how did that come about? So, we'd been looking at our farming operation and wondering how we might be able to improve our bottom line. That led us to move into the line of supplying more for the active sportswear market. As a consequence of that, we decided to, uh,... test mating our... our ewe hoggets to merinos. All right. Time to go meet the superstars. Time to go and meet the superstars. These are some of the half-breed lambs that are part of this wee trial we're doing. Just do that, eh? Yeah, just come around here and grab it like that. Yep. OK. OK. These animals have a slightly finer micron. The diameter of the fibre's a lot finer. And that makes it very suitable for the active sportswear market that we're targeting with Smartwool. (LAUGHS) (BAAS) Oh, sorry, buddy. (CHUCKLES) All right. Well, that was a lot harder than it looks, and it looks really hard, so I don't think I'm gonna give up my day job any time soon. Paddy, cheers, mate. Right. I'm gonna leave the shearing to the farmers and carry on to meet the guy in the supply chain. Gidday, Craig. Gidday, Tim. How are you doing, mate? Yeah, good. Good to see you. So you're the guy who takes the wool from here to here. So how important do you think that authentic Maori ownership and Maori connection is for the product? Well, we think it's really important. The thing about telling our stories and positioning ourselves in the market to sell the best products produced by the best environment, down here in New Zealand is the authenticity around that story. It really resonates with the consumers that we're trying to connect with, in places like the United States and Europe and other areas around the world, so really important. Nice and thick. Yeah. It takes about 12 months. 12 months to make a sock? Yeah, from the time it leaves here, through that whole quality process, to produce the very best sock in the world. Wow. And then from there, that's where it's picked up by the likes of the United States Ski Team. Absolutely. So, from here, Hikurangi, east coast of the North Island, to... Maunga of Park City Mountain Resort, Utah, United States of America. Now, this place, it's ground zero for Smartwool ` 70% of the skiers in the US are wearing their socks. And you can see why ` it is snowing something crazy out here. And half an hour's drive from the maunga is Salt Lake City. Known as the Mormon capital of the world, it's also where a massive outdoor trade show is taking place. All right. So, this is Outdoor Retailer. It's the biggest expo for outdoor stuff. All the big brands are here, and it's a really good chance to see just how massive Smartwool are. Oh! So, Molly, this is kind of like Disneyland for outdoorsy people, right? Oh yeah. This is big. This is the largest trade show for the outdoor industry in the United States. OK. So, people are here shopping for next season's clothing and socks. So this is Smartwool's domain? This is Smartwool's booth. So, we are the number-one ski sock in the country. How did it get so big? We were founded by two ski instructors who had cold toes while they skiing on a mountain. Literal cold feet. Literally cold feet. And they just knew that there had to be a better way. And they searched out and found merino to the best fibre and came to Outdoor Retailer. And we couldn't get anybody to try the socks. And so finally, we said, 'Here. Just take these socks and try them,' and people loved them. Here they are. So, what's so good? Why do people love them so much? Number one, obviously, is the high-quality wool that we get from New Zealand. If we didn't start our socks with high-quality wool, then we wouldn't have such a great product. And here is where Pakihiroa Farm comes in. And so of all your suppliers, they're probably the only ones who are actually farming their... their sheep on their cultural lands, I guess. Yeah, I believe they're the only ones right now. You know, part of what we do is we innovate. Our growers innovate, growing smarter sheep. So they've been working to breed foot rot out of the sheep population in that particular area, and they've been very successful. All right. All that's left now is to hit the slopes, in my socks, with this guy. That's the best! (LAUGHS) From the Salt Lake to the maunga, we're here with a US Olympic bronze medallist. Alex, how are you doing, brother? Doing pretty well. Thanks for having me. Hey, well, thanks for having me. You have a wonderful, beautiful country. Snowboarding, more than so many other sports, relies on technical equipment, right? And gear. Without that, you guys are, kind of, stuffed. Absolutely head to toe, from optics to outerwear, boots, bindings. Like, everything is so important because we're out in the elements. Yeah. How are those feet, bro? Are they warm? Actually sweating right now. They're real warm. (LAUGHS) For us, it's most important staying dry and staying warm. And if your feet start to get cold or they're bothering you, and you start to have that blood return and they itch, it can affect your performance. Socks aren't something that you think about as a sort of sexy item, if you will. But they're just as important as the next piece of our equipment that helps us perform. Whoo-hoo! Look at this guy. He's a natural. Oh! It's not every day you get a snowboarding lesson from an Olympic medallist. And also ` feet still very, very warm. Now, coming up after the break ` find out where these delicious Marlborough tio end up in just 48 hours. 1 Mai i te tihi o te maunga ki te kai o te moana. This is the beautiful Marlborough Sounds, home to Kiwa Oysters. Tio, the Maori word for oysters, are a delicacy all over the globe. And these babies are gonna end up on a plate on the other side of the world in just 48 hours. Although before that, I actually can't wait to get one myself, because they look delicious. How long does it take to harvest an oyster, Joe? So, we're looking at two years before we can reach our harvest in size. The first of our product will be reaching market from about 18 months old. So, the taste from our oysters is very intense. It's an oyster that you wouldn't find any other place in the world. Their flavour reflects that. All right. Here we go. So, I need to obviously make sure that I'm getting the right flavour-profile description for you guys at home. It's quite salty, really tasty. And just, man, big bursts of flavour all throughout your mouth. Like your eating the ocean. It is so good. Now we're gonna track these guys from Marlborough to the other side of the world. Hey, Tim. Thank you very much, mate. First stop, though, is the oyster factory. Karawhiua! Let's go. What is about the Kiwa oyster that means it can travel 48 hours before you eat it? It's the preparation. We're banding our oysters. It helps keep them closed. It keeps them fresh. And when they arrive to our customers, they're a good-quality product. How did I go? You'll get there. All right? (LAUGHS) So come back next week, and we'll give you some more time. Here it is ` our tio. Gotta make its way to the airport now. All the way from Marlborough, and then eventually off over the Pacific. But before I join them on the plane, here's a quick whakapapa lesson on Kiwa oysters. They're a brand of Kono, a Maori-owned and operated company that exports kai and beverages to 28 countries around the globe. And this is their head office in Wakatu, Nelson. The whakapapa of kono is such that we're a part of Wakatu. And Wakatu traces its roots back to, you know, the 1820s, 1830s, really. Wow. Ngati Rarua, Ngati Koata, Te Atiawa and Ngati Tama. So, we have 4000 owners or 4000 shareholders of Wakatu Incorporation, and all of them interrelated. That's why we call ourselves a family business. It's really important to us, you know, who we are and that we live with authenticity. And that's really, I think, what gives us the real heart to the organisation. All right. Well, tell me about some of the wines. Let's go have a look at check 'em out. Tohu wine is another Kono product, which is doing really well both here in Aotearoa and in America. What's the big seller for you guys? The Tohu Sauvignon is one of our biggest sellers. Shall we have a look at that. Absolutely. I thought you'd never ask. I smell fruit. What kind of fruit? OK. Here we go. The test. (SNIFFS) (CHUCKLES) Hmm. I'm gonna say passion fruit. Is that close? Yeah. Passion fruit is good. Really? Yeah, passion fruit is a great flavour to smell. Oh, OK. All right. Cheers. Cheers. Let's see if we can taste that passion fruit. Mmm. Delicious. He reka tenei. I think I need to find out a little bit more about this drop. Cheers. Hey, this, Awatere Vineyard, one of Kono's four vineyards, and as well as being just spectacularly beautiful, it is also home to the world's first Maori wine company, Tohu Wines. What does it take to grow the best grapes in the world? It's about what we do as people working on this land ` people that care about what they do, their attention to detail. Come close to harvest time, we're doing some sampling. It's going down to the winery, to get into the lab. Then really it becomes the winemaker's responsibility to make the picking decision. Mai i te aka ` from the vine to here. This is the Tohu winery. This is where it all gets made. And we go from ground to glass. Why do you think Tohu Wines have been so successful on the international stage? You know, the whole Maori indigenous success story really resonates with our target audience over there. As much as you'd like to think it's, you know, the quality of your wine and what's in the bottle that gets people back again, but it's remembering that story too is really important. What is the process from vine to wine? So, here we're standing in front of the Pinot Noir barrels. Yeah. So, this is all hand-picked, very, kind of, a hands-on, very manual process; kind of, crushed. Old-school. Yeah, whereas something like our Sauvignon Blanc would use a lot more technology, I guess. So they all have their own little quirks and ways of doing things. So that's the wine, but let's check in back in with the oysters. Now the important stuff's checked on, it's time for me to find my turu, because we're off to San Francisco, home of the Golden Gate Bridge. Nau mai e hika ma ki San Francisco, home to the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and Silicon Valley. And thanks to the tech boom, San Francisco is now one of the most expensive cities in America, second only to New York City, and with expensive cities comes fine dining. The perfect spot for some oysters. It's 3pm local time. I got off a plane this morning here in San Francisco. And right now we're gonna see if those Kiwa oysters who, like me, 48 hours ago were in Blenheim, Aotearoa, have made it to WaterBar, the biggest and best oyster bar in San Francisco. How are you going? Hey, Tim. Good to see you. Welcome to Waterbar. Thank you for having me. Did I win? Did I beat the oysters? No, the oysters beat you here. You must have had a stop-off for a pint or two. Yeah, I got a burrito in LA. Hey, so this is your sport. It is. This is Waterbar here in San Francisco. We're a sustainable seafood restaurant. Oysters are our specialty. That's what gets people here, and then they learn about everything else. Every day, we shuck about 2000 oysters. So, you reckon you can tell the difference between something that's come from, like, the east coast of America or the west coast versus the bottom of the world, Aotearoa, New Zealand? For sure. It's very similar to wine. In the flavour, you can definitely pick up some of those characteristics. I gotta try it, right? So, it's been between 40, 45 hours. Cheers. Yeah, yeah. Oh yeah. Tastes like home. It tastes exactly like it did on the boat. That's crazy. Kei tera taha, maybe, what, 5m away, they've got Tohu wine on the menu at Epic Steak House. Petra, hello. Lovely to meet you. I'm Tim. Hi. How are you? Nice to meet you. I understand you're the wine expert here at Epic. Yes, I am. And I also understand that there is a magical wine cellar somewhere on the premises. Let me take you there. So, welcome to our cellar. Oh whoa. 500 selections, about 6500 bottles. There's a lot of wine being drunk at Epic. Yeah. With around 500 bottles of wine being consumed every month from countries all over the world, getting on the wine list is no easy task. So, where is the Tohu? There is a Tohu from New Zealand. Oh, awesome. Our pride. There she is, yeah. (CHUCKLES) Now, you've got your Advanced Sommelier's Certificate, so can you give me a bit of, like, a masterclass? Yes. Absolutely. Let's do some wine tasting, and let's see if you can recognise the New Zealand wine. Ooh. Pressure. Pressure. You've put me under pressure. (CHUCKLES) Ready for some wine tasting? Oh man. I've got the weight of a nation of my shoulders. There you go. So I got three wines for you. You know one of them is Tohu, so you kind of have it easy. Yeah, I do have it slightly easier, but now there's pressure, because I need to be able to pick what mere minutes ago, I was tasting in Blenheim and having a really good time with. So wish me luck. And here is wine number one. Is that passion fruit? Oh man. I don't know. (LAUGHS) Don't give up. Don't give up. OK. It was overly fruity, I didn't think. OK. Just yeah, maybe a little dry. OK. You're good. You can have my job (!) That one's a little more tart or acidic. Very nice. This one has a different colour. Please be passion fruit. Oh. (LAUGHS) (LAUGHS) OK. So, I'll help you. If you go back to them and just smell them without tasting them, which one do you think is the most aromatic one? (SNIFFS) OK. It feels to me that is stronger. (SNIFFS) OK, that one. OK. (LAUGHS) So what did I say about Tohu? Tohu. There you go. Did I do it? Yes. (CHEERS) (LAUGHS) Oh my goodness. Amazing. So I should probably finish the Tohu to celebrate. Yes. Yeah. Cheers. Cheers. (LAUGHS) But it's not just in San Fran; Tohu is being sold all over America, including Sophia's Wine Bar in New York. So, you were one of the first in all of America to invest in Tohu? Yeah. When you ask for a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, then you want the glass to reveal what your brain expects. So I tried it, and I was very impressed by it. And I said, 'I will invest in this product, because I believe it will succeed.' All year around, I should say that Tohu Sauvignon Blanc is always one of the best sellers. It's not just wine that we're exporting to New York City; we're also known for our wool, obviously. Although, this next story is less traditional ugly woolly jumper and more international sporting superstars. And it whakapapas to... He pamu Maori no Uawa ` Tolaga Bay. (POIGNANT MUSIC) This is the very moment... Audrey understood that more than 20,000 Kiwis were paying the actual wholesale price of their power, but she was still paying whatever fixed price her power company felt like. 1 He Tolaga Bay tatou, rohe o Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti. 40 minutes north-east of Gisborne, a farm with a very unique connection to the US Open. So, what is it? Hei konei Iwinui Station. Kia ora. Hi there. How are you doing? Mind if I get a ride? Jump in. Will do. That's Wayne Amaru, chair of the Hauiti Incorporation, the business arm of the Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti, who own Iwinui Farm. And Wayne knows what makes this whenua special. We take pride in the land, and it's the respect that we have for the land that generates, um, the return to us. That's something that's been instilled in us by our ancestors. But like all good things, it's had its fair share of hard knocks, and the 1990s saw some tough times. It was in pretty dire straits financially, and a lot of the infrastructure was pretty run down. And there's been quite a plethora of committee members that have all paid a major part in assisting us to get it to the level that it's at today. And here's how they've made it successful ` the board takes care of the business, and farm manager Jeremy Watson takes over at the gate. How are raising the wool to make sure that's it's of high quality? We try and keep the sheep well-fed and right through their lifetime, especially round their pregnancy and that of the ewe and that, and also when they've got lambs in. It's quite a stressful time for them, so... So a happy sheep equals good wool? Yeah, exactly. Do you think there's a bit of East Coast in the wool as well? (LAUGHS) I'd say so, definitely. (CHUCKLES) So, this is where all the wool comes from. It's still got quite a journey to go on before it gets to centre court. He Whakatu tatou inaianei. This is the Scour, owned by New Zealand Wool Services. And this is where they clean the wool. Wool Services NZ are our largest wool exporter. The wool comes in from the farm, gets cleaned and washed, then put into bales and exported to 20 different countries around the world. So it literally just a giant washing machine? It is a giant washing machine. So, what is it that makes Iwanui Station's wool so unique? Well, because of the bright, clean sound and very low in vegetable matter. And the quality of the wool is an important factor in terms of the bounce of the tennis ball. But what I really wanna know is... How do they turn this into a tennis ball? Which brings be to Thailand, home of Tex Tech, the largest supplier of tennis felt on the planet. Stephen, why do you use wool from Aotearoa? So, the wool from New Zealand is perfect for the tennis-ball manufacturing process, due to the colour, the coarseness and the cleanliness of the wool. We use only New Zealand wool in making tennis balls. There's no other wool, nothing else, only New Zealand wool for every tennis ball we make. For every tennis ball? Wow. It's pretty impressive. So, out of one roll, we get approximately 9500 tennis balls. So from here, the rolls go to the Wilsons factory, which is four minutes down the road. And obviously, this is where felt becomes ball. And from the factory to here. This is where the tennis balls up, Flushing Meadows, New York City. Now, Wilson's been the official sponsor of the US Open since 1979. And it's pretty cool to think that the wool comes from Aotearoa. Every September the US Open smashes more than 70,000 balls back and forth over that net, which is where that quality Iwinui wool really comes into play. Ka mau te weti! So, from Iwinui to New York City, the US Open, here they are. Well, it's absolutely amazing. I never gave it much thought as to where the wool actually finished up. That was Jeremy's job. So to have that, it actually makes us quite proud. So, one of the reasons the world knows about America's successes and its stories is cos they're really good at talking about it. I think if we're gonna learn one thing from this place, from these people, is that a little bit of pride is not such a bad thing. Without it, you'd never know that the wool from the tennis ball comes from Uawa, and Tolaga Bay, or that some of the best wine in the world's being made at the top of Te Waipounamu. Or even Mt Hikurangi producing wool that goes on the socks to the Olympics. I think it's pretty important to punch above your weight and to tell the world about it. Captions by Faith Hamblyn. www.able.co.nz Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2018.