Peregrine pinot noir among best in the world

Peregrine pinot noir among best in the world – award success

Peregrine Wines of Central Otago are among the best pinot noir makers in the world, according to the international Top 100 wine award judges in Sydney.

Peregrine Wines are one of the most promising wineries in New Zealand and one of the rising stars in Central Otago.

They lifted the prestigious pinot noir trophy at the Top 100 wine awards in Sydney on Saturday night.

A total of 2000 entries were accepted from 17 wine-producing countries -- Australia, Argentina, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, Romania, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, Uruguay, and USA.

The awards focused on the best wine and food partners.

``The peregrine 2002 wine showed its ability to be not only a great wine but a fantastic partner to food which was what this competition was all about,’’ Peregrine chief executive and co-founder Greg Hay said today.

``The wine is very user friendly and would appeal to most red wine lovers, not just pinot lovers which is a big transition.

``The wine was up against pinot noirs from around the world and pipped the Gibbston Valley reserve pinot noir 2002 for the trophy so it was an great overall result for Central Otago.’’

The competition is the only one of its type in the world where the wines are judged alongside food so it gives both restaurateurs and `food lovers’ the confidence to list the wines or purchase it knowing that it has already been judged by critics to be champion wine or food partner .

The pinot noir trophy for Peregrine is a huge vote because at the moment there is so much focus on the pinot variety that every one producing it is trying their hardest to make the best wine possible.

``There is so much work, from the vineyards through to the winery, that has to be done with pinot noir that when it’s done right its so rewarding but if you cut corners it is a variety that will punish you even harder,’’ Hay said.

``For our company, an award like this is very satisfying in that it continues a consistent run of awards and accolades for this variety as well as our white wines. The public don’t really want one hit wonders , they want wines and wineries with a history behind them so they have a fair idea what to expect , each and every time they purchase a bottle of wine which is what we have achieved at Peregrine.

``Peregrine’s pinot noir 2002 is a great partner for our white varietals which have also achieved considerable success across the board. The pinot gris`s and rieslings from Central Otago will at some stage achieve as much notice from the aficionados as the pinot noirs are enjoying at the moment.’’ The Peregrine 2002 pinot noir has also achieved the following results in its short career. It won a Du Mondial gold medal in Switzerland from 950 odd wines and the only NZ pinot noir to receive a gold.

Jancis (Eds: correct spelling) Robinson , writing in the UK Financial Times recently picked it as one of her top 25 wines.

It was also voted one of Cuisine magazine’s top 10 pinots last year.

The award-winning pinot was the last one made for Peregrine by the Picasso of pinots, Rudi Bauer.

``It is a great swansong for us and Rudi is now concentrating on his own label, Quartz Reef,’’ Hay said.

``We have recently employed Michelle Richardson, ex Villa Maria head winemaker, who is weaving her magic in the winery with the 2003 pinot noir, to be released in a few months time.

``It has been a very exciting period in the short life of Peregrine, with our new winery only just finished, Michelle coming on board, awards such as this trophy, all done in a region where not only is it a stunning, inspiring place to live, you can also produce world beating wines here. You can’t beat that.’’

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