Can NZ wine repeat stellar success in 2017

Can New Zealand repeat stellar success in 2017 Sydney International Wine Competition? Entries invited from NZ wineries for 38th Competition

23 July 2017: New Zealand wineries are expected to holder even greater sway in this year’s Sydney International Wine Competition, following the huge success of Kiwi producers in the 2017 judging.

Entries for this year’s Competition – the only international wine show that judges all its finalists in combination with appropriate food – can be made up till 15 September, with judging in mid-October and provisional award and trophy winners notified by the end of October.

In last year’s competition New Zealand wineries won 94 out of the 291 medals awarded, as well as nine trophies.

Marlborough once again led the way with 52 medal winners, Hawke’s Bay was second with 17, and Central Otago third, with nine.

The Competition threw up some ‘star-studded’ medal winners with TV personality Graham Norton’s partnership with New Zealand’s Invivo Wines producing a Blue Gold medal for his debut Rosé ‘Pink by Design’ (produced from grapes from Hawke’s Bay and Marlborough) and a Gold medal for his South Australian Shiraz.

Last year’s Competition attracted the most diverse range of entries in the competition’s history, with wines entered from 13 countries, representing over 100 different grape varieties.

Wine producers from around the world are eligible to enter the competition, with entries capped at a total of 2000 wines to ensure the most rigorous judging process.

Online entries can be made via the competition’s website www.top100wines.com, which contains full details of the judging criteria and judges’ comments on all award winners from the 2017 competition.

With no minimum production requirements, this show is particularly applicable to experimental and small makers to test their wines alongside wines from major producers.

This year’s competition will be judged by an international panel of fourteen highly experienced and credentialed judges which includes five Masters of Wine, with Kym Milne MW returning as Chair of the judging panel.

New judges to the competition are Mike DeGaris, Corey Ryan, Natasha Hughes MW, Matthew Deller MW and Tan Ying Hsien MW, who qualified as Singapore’s first-ever Master of Wine in 2015.

They join returning judges Kym Milne MW, Stuart Halliday, Sue Bastian, Warren Gibson, Brent Mariss, Ken Dobler, Meg Brodtmann MW and Oliver Masters.

Renowned Chef Michael Manners will once again develop menus for the final rounds when wines are tasted “with appropriate food”.

Competition Director of the Sydney International Wine Competition, Brett Ling, said the Competition continued to attract national and international attention because of the relevance of the judging process to consumer tastes.

“Recent Competition results have shown that some of the best performing wines are also amongst the best-value wines, reflecting the industry’s move towards food friendly wines of balance and harmony at all price points,” said Mr Ling.

“For most consumers, wine is best enjoyed with food, and so judging wines with food, in the right environment, is the best way to ensure that wine show awards are relevant for consumers. Warren Mason founded the Sydney International Wine Competition on that premise, and the tradition continues under our long-standing Chairman of Judges, Kym Milne.”

Entry forms now available: www.top100wines.com

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