Corks pop at wineries after big TV exposure

Three Hawke's Bay wineries featured in the opening episode of Yvonne Lorkin's Thirsty Work series which made its debut on the Food Channel last Wednesday night have been happily raising a toast to her and the show.

"Considering the time of year - we've never had an end of the week like it," Clearview Estate Winery winemaker Barry Riwai said.

"It was extraordinary."

Clearview, Alpha Domus and Crossroads all featured in the opening episode, which saw the Bay-born host engage with the people behind them, and experience the wines they create.

"The first customer we had on Thursday said they had seen us on the show and called in to buy an Endeavour (chardonnay). A lot of people arrived during the day and said they had seen us," Mr Riwai said.

Sales were solid through the day, as were trade calls.

Friday was also a big day - with two couples who had been staying at the Lodge at Cape Kidnappers calling in to buy some wine to take with them after seeing the show.

They bought about $3000 worth.

Winemaker and owner Tim Turvey also fielded a number of calls from customers in the wake of Lorkin's show's screening.

Adding to the "great end to the week" was news that Clearview's 2007 Reserve Chardonnay had been included in a top 12 of the country's best white wines as seen by the winewriters of the US' influential Wine Enthusiast magazine.

Plenty of smiles were also evident at Crossroads Vineyard at Fernhill.

"We had people coming in the next day and saying they had seen the programme and wanted to check us out - and yes, we got some orders," winemaker Miles Dineen said.

"We also had calls from several different restaurants asking about our wines. It's still early days but we've had some good feedback and the cellar door were getting inquiries."

At Alpha Domus Winery, the cellar door may have been closed but the calls began arriving first thing.

Winemaker Paul Ham said many were from people in the social media and wine trade, who had seen the winery "up close" and wanted to make contact.

"They told us they liked what they saw and wanted to get in touch."

Mr Ham said as well as valuable contacts, there was the bonus that footage of Alpha Domus from the show was available for them to use in their export work.

All three winemakers said apart from the individual bonus, the show was also invaluable for promoting the whole region's wine industry.

The response had delighted Ms Lorkin.

"I was hugely nervous about how people would respond to the first episode, but after the positive feedback we've received via emails, phonecalls, tweets and texts - I feel a lot more relaxed," she said.

"I'm thrilled that the wineries have had interest from people, because that's what it's all about, and it just proves that telling your story is the best form of marketing ever."

The show had also created international attention.

"We've already had interest from an international distributor ... so it's all on!"