Kiwi Wine Does It Again

Wine 'experts' can be confusing.
On the one hand, they say: "Drink what you like!", "Don’t worry about scores!", "You can even drink red wine and fish if you like the combination!" The next minute, they’re dishing out sage advice about the 'right' vintage, the 'best' area etc.
Well, if you're influenced by the scorecard, New Zealand's just won 18 gold medals, including 15 Best in Class, at the UK-based 2011 International Wine and Spirits Competition.
The tally beats our previous record of 11 golds in 2008 and the competition average of 4.9 gold medals per country. NZ wine won 305 awards at the event, and scooped two of the prestigious trophy awards.
The Bouchard Finlayson Pinot Noir Trophy was awarded to Peregrine Central Otago Pinot Noir 2009 and, for the first time, a NZ Riesling won The London International Wine Fair Trophy for Single Vineyard White - awarded to Two Sisters Vineyard Central Otago Riesling 2007.
The Peregrine Pinot Noir had already achieved Air New Zealand Champion Wine of the Show in the 2010 Air New Zealand Wine Awards – yet despite its award-winning success is priced at only $39, while the Two Sisters Riesling sells for just $35: both very accessible prices for wine of this calibre.
NZ is the fastest growing country-of-origin for wine in both volume and value in the UK and exports of our wine to the US in June this year were up 21% - making the US the third largest market for NZ wine.
We’ve come a long way since 1990 when I was working in the wine trade in London. Back then, at the top end you could sometimes find some legendary NZ Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, while towards the bottom there was Cook’s Chenin Blanc…and very little else kiwi wine at all.
The fact that a local Riesling has won such an important international trophy highlights to the world that we are producing exceptional wines beyond the Sauvignon Blanc...