Wine awards seeing a passing of tradition, ghosts
The ghost of Wither Hills has now passed and this year’s Air New Zealand Wine Awards entries are showing a top vintage moving away from New Zealand’s traditional varietals.
Judges Steve Smith and Nick Stock are analysing a record 1750 wine entries, and mid-way through their judging they took the time to discuss the state of the industry with NBR.
This year’s trend? The passing of the ‘savalanche’ that has dominated the kiwi wine landscape and flooded competitions past.
Aussie Nick Stock, author of Penguins 2009 Good Australian Wine Guide and avid Kiwi wine enthusiast, has managed to add specific New Zealand chapters for the first time. He last judged at the awards in 2004, and the improvements he has seen so far have impressed.
For him, the story of the awards so far has been the emergence of riesling, which, as well as showing a growth in volumes submitted, is showing increased complexity and diversity across New Zealand’s varied terroir.
Gewurztraminer and Viognier are also getting increased focus from the industry, and the results are starting to show.
Hawke’s Bay’s Syrah is also well on the way to becoming world class, as well as revealing some uniquely kiwi characteristics that will surely drive a demand internationally, he says.
There has been much that New Zealand may fall victim to a sauvignon blanc glut. The danger, says Mr Stock, is a focus on quantity rather than quality.
The quality is there, he maintains, but it is coming from those wineries focussing on tight management of their yields.
This is becoming increasingly important as New Zealand’s supply starts to catch up with international demand, and the premium price points previously commanded start to shrink in a highly competitive environment.
Some of the more innovative wines he’s tasted so far are showing a move away from the traditional sweatiness and grassiness synonymous with kiwi sauvignon blanc, and toward a citrus/tropical and mineral palate.
“Although there are those happy to push out the same old, these new tones shed light on a new direction for Kiwi sav,” Mr Stock said.
Head judge Steve Smith MW, has long been a heavyweight in kiwi wine circles. The managing director of Craggy Range vineyards has been in control of the judging team for two years now, since the departure of Brent Marris.
He too believes that New Zealand’s wines are moving toward lighter, lower alcohol flavours due to the worldwide shift to lighter, healthier foods.
He too is praising a standout set of rieslings, and while sauvignon blancs still feature prominently in the entries the proportion of standouts has declined.
“There are still those ultra-premiums in there, but the quality has been more scattered this year,” he said.
Much of this push to experiment with non-traditional varietals has come, surprisingly enough, from the big players such as Pernod Ricard.
“It’s really good to see the big guys leading the way, and really pushing new ideas rather than sitting on the tried and true.”
When the Wither Hills question inevitably arises, Mr Smith is quick to point out its status as a historical curio.
Air New Zealand went to great lengths to shore up the show’s damaged reputation following the scandal in 2006, where chief judge and head winemaker and Wither Hills Brent Marris was accused of submitting special runs of his wines to competitions, rather than what was available for to the consumer.
Since then the show has changed its entry criteria, and award winners are now audited to check their wines are the real deal.
“We will go into [wine] stores and we’ll go into their warehouses to select and check bottles from different lots. We are the only wine show in New Zealand that does that, and I think we’re probably the only wine show in the world that does that,” he said.
“What happened with Wither Hills was a very rare occurrence anyway. The process was 99.95% safe anyway; we’re just closing the gate on that last 0.05%. It’s not just important for the show’s standing, but for the consumers and the judges too.”