Gold medals across the board for Villa Maria at Royal Easter Show Wine Awards

The competition season has opened on a strong note for the country’s most awarded winery, Villa Maria, which picked up 13 gold medals and 15 silvers at the 2010 Royal Easter Show Wine Awards yesterday.

Gold medals were received for 11 different varieties of wine made by Villa Maria, across every price point.

The Royal Easter Show Wine Awards is the country’s oldest wine competition and Villa Maria’s senior Auckland winemaker Nick Picone says he’s particularly pleased to have succeeded in almost every variety.

“This demonstrates a real dedication by the viticulture and winemaking teams to achieving quality across the whole portfolio of wines.”

Picone says the winemaking team were thrilled to have received awards for some of the rarer varieties, such as Verdelho and Viognier.

“Villa Maria and Esk Valley are pioneers of Verdelho in New Zealand so winning awards gives us confidence that we are heading in the right direction.”

More than 1500 wines from about 270 wine producers were tasted by the five-strong judging panel with more than 15 per cent of the gold medals were scooped by Villa Maria and associated wineries, Vidal and Esk Valley.

The show’s director, Terry Dunleavy, remarked on the increase of top medals awarded over the judging, saying it was a good indication of the extent to which New Zealand’s winemakers have raised the bar on quality in recent years.

2010 Royal Easter Show trophy winners will be announced at the official awards dinner on 20th March, 2010.

A summary of gold medal wins for Villa Maria and associated wineries are as follows:

Gold
Esk Valley Winemakers Gimblett Gravels Syrah 2007
Vidal Hawkes Bay Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon 2008
Vidal Reserve Syrah 2006
Villa Maria Cellar Selection Syrah 2008
Villa Maria Private Bin East Coast Chardonnay 2009
Villa Maria Reserve Barrique Gisborne Chardonnay 2008
Villa Maria Reserve Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2008
Villa Maria Private Bin Gewurztraminer 2009
Villa Maria Reserve Clifford Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2009
Villa Maria Cellar Selection Riesling 2009
Villa Maria Private Bin Riesling 2009
Villa Maria Cellar Selection Viognier 2009
Villa Maria Single Vineyard Ihumatao Verdelho 2008
Villa Maria Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2008
Villa Maria Reserve Merlot 2007
Villa Maria Estate Private Bin Rose 2009

Visit www.villamaria.co.nz for more information.

For further information contact:
Nick Picone
Senior Auckland Winemaker
Villa Maria Estate
021 920 484 or 09 255 0678
nickp@villamaria.co.nz

Ian Clark
Export/PR Manager
Villa Maria Estate
021 929 643 or 09 255 1669