Wine variety comes of age

Bordeaux blends are back! A wine forum starting in Hawke's Bay today is aiming to give the region's most widely-grown red varieties a boost.

Pinot noir and syrah are often talked about in the wine press as New Zealand favourites, but it is cabernet merlot and its blends that dominate sales.

Organisers of the first Cabernet Merlot Forum, which started at the Hawke's Bay Opera House today, have planned the event to celebrate a variety that has ``come of age'. Te Mata Estate head winemaker and member of the organising committee Peter Cowley said the forum, attended by international wine media and experts, was a celebration of the ``Bordeaux blends'.

``Cabernet merlot blends have been the main red varieties in Hawke's Bay forever. It's huge for the area and it's a big seller in supermarkets,' he said.
``It's the biggest red wine but with the pinot noir thing we don't hear so much about it.

``There's a lot of it being drunk but if you read the wine press you'd think New Zea-land had become a pinot noir country.'

Mr Cowley said Hawke's Bay produced 70 to 80 per cent of New Zealand cabernet merlot blends and was doing it well.

``It's come of age. A lot of people have hit their straps, there are a lot of very good merlot cabernets being made and we're not talking about them enough.'

He said international tastes were trending away from some of the heavier, bolder blends produced in hotter climates, which presented a golden opportunity for New Zealand to capitalise on.

Hawke's Bay's climate produced a fresher and more elegant wine, which was finding favour with drinkers and critics.

Guest speakers would present a range of international blends for producers here to compare and benchmark against.

``I don't think we realise what we've got here, and when we do we'll get behind it,' he said.