Wine awards set gold medal record

A record 118 wines have won gold at the 2011 Royal Easter Show Wine Awards.

New Zealand Wine Society director Terry Dunleavy said a 16 percent increase in the number of gold medals awarded this year was evidence of the increasing quality of New Zealand wines.

``What's in the bottle has shown 2010 to be one of the best vintages of the last few years, especially in our number one export variety sauvignon blanc, which won 21 golds, while our stellar red, pinot noir, continued its remarkable progress, also with 21 golds,'' he said.

More than 1500 wines were entered in the competition, up 1.6 percent on last year.

Judges chairwoman Kate Radburnd said the standard of judging was the among the highest she had ever seen.

``We are fortunate in this country to have a growing band of young professionals working in our wineries who are dedicated not only to making better and better wine, but have become expert in recognising and judging quality,'' she said.

Trophy winners will be announced at an awards dinner on March 19.