Kiwi wine no longer a one-trick pony
Cynics decrying the New Zealand wine industry as good for sauvignon blanc and little else have been silenced by the results of the 2008 Air New Zealand Wine Awards.
Like many award shows this year, it’s showing an industry maturing and exhibiting a range of wines of surprising quality.
This year sees the traditional varietals take a back seat to the rise of Riesling, the punch of pinot noir and the scope of syrahs, while niche grapes such as gewürztraminer and viognier boost their presence also.
Long predicted by pundits to become a key kiwi varietal, pinot noir finally took its place as king, picking up 21 gold medals, the most awarded to a single varietal this year.
The judging panel, overseen by Craggy Range vintner and Master of Wine Steve Smith, oversaw a record 1751 entries moving away from sauvignon blanc myopia.
Sauvignon blanc still picked up 13 gold medals.
“Marlborough continued to dominate the Sauvignon Blanc varietal, and the 10 gold medals awarded to 2008 Marlborough are as good as ever. It’s also pleasing to see two wines from Nelson and one wine from Waipara achieving gold medal statusm” Mr Smith said.
A total of 91 gold medals have been awarded across 14 different wine varietals, Riesling also impressing hauling a record 11 gold medals for the varietal.
Syrah, Riesling and Chardonnay also picked up 8, 11 and 15 gold medals respectively.
In addition to the 91 gold medals awarded, the 26-strong expert-judging panel awarded 239 silver medals and 399 bronze medals.
In the Sustainable category, introduced last year, a total of seven pure gold medals were awarded, all of which will now also vie for the Bell Gully Champion Sustainable Wine Trophy. Nineteen silver and 32 bronzes were also awarded in the Sustainable category.
Of the seven pure gold medals, five were awarded to wines from the Hawkes Bay region.
The final trophies, including the overall Wine of the Show trophy, the Sustainable Wine trophy and the elite gold medal winners, will be announced at the Air New Zealand Wine Awards gala dinner in Wellington on Saturday November22.