Nelson wines win gold

Five Nelson wines are in the running for prestigious trophies in the Air New Zealand Wine Awards later this month.

The wines have already picked up gold or pure gold medals and will compete for trophies to be awarded at a dinner in Auckland on November 20.

Waimea Nelson Gewurztraminer 2010 and Tussock Nelson Rose 2010 have pure gold medals, acknowledging they are 100 per cent sustainably grown and produced.

Golden Hills Estates Nelson Pinot Gris 2009, Waimea Nelson Classic Riesling 2009 and Waimea Nelson Viognier 2009 have been awarded gold medals.

Wines from the Nelson region also collected 12 silver medals and 15 bronze medals.

The most awarded varietal for the region was pinot gris, with nine medals, followed by sauvignon blanc and chardonnay, with six medals each. Twenty-two of the region's 32 medals were awarded to sustainable wines.

This year's competition saw 1579 wines entered from 10 regions. In total 107 gold, 197 silver and 384 bronze medals have been awarded, and 19 trophies will be awarded.