Oyster Win Caps "Year To Remember"

CHARLES WIFFEN WINES LIMITED

26 November 2002

OYSTER WIN CAPS "YEAR TO REMEMBER"

It's official! Along with some of the world's finest oysters, New Zealand produces the best wine for accompanying that celebrated mollusc.

Charles Wiffen Wines' 2001 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc was last week named Grand Champion at the seventh annual International Wines for Oysters Competition in Washington D.C.

The win comes less than five months after the same wine was judged "Best Sauvignon Blanc and Best of Show White" at this year's San Francisco International Wine Competition in late June.

"As a small, family-owned winery we're delighted to have notched-up major successes in competitions on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States. This latest win has truly turned 2002 into a year to remember," says Managing Director, Charles Wiffen.

"We didn't set out to make the best wine to go with oysters. We simply wanted to make the best Sauvignon Blanc that we possibly could. Even so, our Washington win has given us invaluable publicity across the US and has already resulted in additional pre-Christmas orders," he adds.

Winning the Washington contest involved beating 453 rivals from 14 countries, including a field of finalists made up of 13 other sauvignons blanc, a dry sherry, three sparkling wines, a chablis and a pinot gris.

"Competition successes of this type are a pointer to the huge potential of the US market for our wine industry.

"There's a lot of education to be done as the overwhelming majority of Americans are largely unaware that New Zealand produces wine. But people in the industry there are starting to respect the overall high quality of our output. It all bodes very well for the future," says Mr Wiffen.

For further information, please contact:

Charles Wiffen Managing Director Charles Wiffen Wines 025 399 720 03 319 2826

Released by Ian Morrison, Matter of Fact Communications Tel: 09 575 3223, Fax: 09 575 3220, Email: matfact@ww.co.nz

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