Quality rules

One of the most discussed topics at the Air New Zealand Wine Awards gala dinner last week in Christchurch was wine exports and the way forward.

At five bottles of wine per second for an entire year it already sounds like an awful lot of wine, and that is apparently how much wine was exported this year.

That's $1 billion worth. But the call was for that figure to rise by 50 per cent and not just by doubling the number of bottles we sell, but by producing better wines and targeting the upper end of the market.

Couldn't have said it better myself. The world has many examples of a country ruining a lucrative export market when entrepreneurs out to make a quick buck flood the market with an inferior product that, very quickly, ruins it for everyone.

But after tasting many of the finalists in the running for a trophy that night, quality is not too much of a problem. Now all we need is for them to triple their output without compromising quality, send it off around the world and problem solved.

That's not to say that all the wines were expensive - of the 100-odd gold medal wines, 11 had a RRP of under $20 with one, Couper's Shed Pinot Gris 2009, winning the Champion Pinot Gris Trophy.

There were 18 trophy winners - all were of outstanding quality, but here are a few of my favourites.

Julicher Pinot Noir 2008 Martinborough was named Champion Pinot Noir and also the worthy winner of the Champion of the Show award. Magnificent bouquet of ripe plums and cherries with some lovely spicy and savoury overtones. Juicy and velvety in the mouth, it's drinking well now but is well worth cellaring.

The chardonnay trophy went to Villa Maria Reserve Barrique 2007. This is Gisborne chardonnay at its best and I was so impressed with this wine that I forgot to take notes. All I remember was power, poise, complexity, richness, citrus and delicious nutty oak.

Johanneshof Marlborough Gewurztraminer 2009. Consistently one of the finest producers of this variety in the country and this is a beaut. One of our group picked it as his wine of the night.

The Open White Wine trophy was won by Forrest The Doctors Marlborough Riesling 2009 and the Sustainable wine Trophy was won by Olssens Annieburn Riesling 2009. Both are outstanding examples of how well we can make this variety in this country.

Congratulations to everyone involved for putting on a wonderful evening; even the water was a success. You know the story on a big night out, glass of wine, glass of water - but it's easy to forget or just not bother. Well not any more with a company called Deep Origin turning water into an art form by designing a teardrop-shaped bottle with two dimple grips making it a pleasure to pick up.

Wine of the week

One of the Elite Gold medal winners that I was particularly pleased to see was awarded to Greystone Waipara Pinot Noir 2008, left, a wine that had recently featured in one of the best wine and food matches I have ever had. Sezn Restaurant in Gloucester Street held a winemakers' dinner recently and while all the courses were superb, one in particular stood out. Lamb rump with olives, potato and goat cheese puree, and salsa verde was a match made in heaven with the Greystone Pinot.

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