The bombing of the Rainbow Warrior in 1985 cost a life and created a major international incident with one of our allies.
However out of the scandal rose the New Zealand France Friendship Fund, an agreement signed by both Prime Ministers to promote friendship between the two countries.
Today the Central Otago wine industry is making the most of the exchange programme with Burgundy, the spiritual home of pinot noir.
Rippon Vineyard is one of the most photographed vineyards in the country, sitting down beside Lake Wanaka near the Southern Alps and the main divide.
And it's here where wine maker Nick Mills is both teacher and student to French winemaker Paul Meunier.
Paul's in New Zealand on an exchange programme. He shares the craft with the Central Otago region and helping with this year's harvest.
Pauls' home in burgundy is one of the most famous and influential wine growing regions in the world. As the ancestral home of pinot noir, wine has grown there for centuries. But in New Zealand, pinot noir has only been grown here for the last 30 years.
As part of the exchange programme. three or four students from the Otago Polytech travel to Burgundy each year with the help of the New Zealand France Friendship Fund.
Paul's knowledge has been passed down his family for centuries and is helpful and appreciated here.
While Paul will return home with Kiwi knowledge and ideas on how they could improve operations there.