NZ Riesling Pick of Bunch at International Awards

Media release for immediate use 6 July 2010

New Zealand Riesling Pick of the Bunchat International Wine Awards

Christchurch’s Sandihurst Winery has scooped a major award at the prestigious and influential 2010 International Wine Challenge in the United Kingdom.

Sandihurst Winery’s 2007 ‘True and Daring’ Riesling was one of only 111 entries to receive a trophy after having earlier been awarded a gold medal. The trophy is for the best Riesling in New Zealand.

The International Wine Challenge is the world’s largest independent wine competition, this year receiving more than 9,000 entries from a record 46 countries.

Hennie Bosman, of Sandihurst Winery, says it was a true honour to receive this much sought-after award.

“We were just delighted to be the only New Zealand Riesling to get a gold medal,” he says. “To go on and win a trophy is an amazing endorsement for our team.”

“Since we moved to the region from South Africa in 2005, our aim has always been to craft wines which are unique, elegant, food focused offerings, which combine the best of cool climate viticulture and traditional wine making with a new world edge.

“Our ‘True and Daring’ label represents wines that are made from grapes from some of the country’s most revered vineyards so it has wide appeal. You don’t need to be an expert to know it is good, but we are glad the 350 judges enjoyed it,” he says.

The judges described the wining wine as a wonderful, slightly evolved Riesling with kiwifruit and lime marmalade scents, crystalline purity and a beautiful balance of fruit, acidity and sweetness.

Sandihurst Winery is a family owned West Melton winery which produces 15,000 six-bottle cases of premium wine each year from iconic regions including Marlborough, the Gibbston Valley and Waipara.

Hennie Bosman says Sandihurst Winery’s winemaker Kirk Bray has started to build a reputation on the national and international front as a winemaker of note.

“Kirk’s Rieslings have received acclaim both nationally and internationally,” he says. “Our 2006 Canterbury Pinot Noir really turned heads when it received a 4 Star, Highly Recommended award from Decanter Magazine UK.

“This has been followed recently by our 2007 Central Otago Pinot Noir being awarded a Gold Medal at the International Wine Challenge in 2009. We are very proud of the wines we produce and the international success we are having truly makes the hard work worthwhile,” he says.

The trophy will be presented to Sandihurst Winery at an awards dinner on 7 September 2010 in London. In all, eight New Zealand wines will receive trophies.

“The success of New Zealand wines at the International Wine Challenge is a true endorsement for our industry. For a country that has only a two per cent share of the world wine market to be awarded eight out of the 111 trophies is an amazing achievement,” says Hennie Bosman.

Gold medal winning wines go through an additional rigorous round of testing by an elite panel of judges against others in the same category, to determine if they are worthy of a trophy. France produced the most trophy winning wines this year with 21, followed by Australia (12), and Portugal (11).

The ‘True and Daring’ label is aimed at the United States market but is available to local buyers through the Sandihurst website at www.sandihurstwines.co.nz.

ENDS

© Scoop Media