Show Analysis

This year’s show saw an increase in entries by 174 wines (14.1%) from 2003 making a total increase of 238 wines over two years (19.3%). This is a clear indication of a rapidly growing industry coupled with the valued return of several wine companies to this show circuit.

The areas of notable change were:

-          doubling  in size of the Sparkling, Gewürztraminer and Rose classes

-          an increase of 75 entries in the current vintage Sauvignon Blanc class (34%)

-          an increase in the Pinot Gris class of 63%.

-          halving of the one-year-old Chardonnay class.

-          Chardonnay was the biggest class of wines (271), followed by Sauvignon Blanc (248) and then Pinot Noir (205).

The judges awarded 52.5% of the entries with medals

-          5.6% Gold                         (78 wines)

-          11.1% Silver          (156 wines)

-          35.9% Bronze        (504 wines)

The lower than normal silver medal tally reflects the difficult vintage experienced in both Hawkes Bay and Central Otago in 2003 and vintage variation in the 2004 harvest.

Highlights

There were a number to choose from, but in particular:

-          the handling of oak and malolactic characters in our Chardonnay appears much better than in past years.

-          the quality of our Bordeaux blends is continuing to improve as vines become older and the wines are handled better.

-          the Pinot Noir class is continuing to show an exciting range of styles as is Syrah. In fact, the Syrah quality this year was excellent with 16 wines out of 32 receiving Gold or Silver medals.

-          the Sauvignon Blanc class continued to grow, as did the medals awarded proportionally. 55% of those entered were awarded medals. This is the wine show average.

Concerns

Some obvious concerns were:

-          to many wines were showing sulfides that were under screw cap. Something to watch.

-          doubling of the Rose class with 63% getting no award. This is too many wines  with no award for this class. Remember the wines still have to sell.

-          the amount of obvious botrytis or dilute characters in the Pinot Gris and Gewürztraminer classes and the obvious mould characters in the sweet wines. Care should be taken in the vineyard to avoid this.

International Judges

This year we were privileged to have Nick Stock from Australia and Matthew Jukes from the UK .

Nick has been twice awarded the Aust. Sommelier Of The Year, is a Len Evans Scholar, a writer, buyer, industry consultant and winemaker.

Matthew writes for Daily Mail in the UK (10 million readers per week) is writer of “The Wine List - Top 250 Wines Of The Year”, a buyer, radio wine personality and judge.

They both brought a fantastic level of expertise, experience and fun to the judging scene. They then toured around the wine regions of NZ. The opportunity to learn from these judges and to host them in our country is of immeasurable value to our industry. A special thanks for their hard work, focus and dedication.

Judges

A big thankyou to the fantastic teamwork and effort put in by the judges this year. Panel leaders Larry McKenna, Kate Radburnd, Mike De Garis and Oliver Masters led with total professionalism and made sure that every entry received thorough consideration for the accolade received. Without this level of leadership the results would be meaningless.

Backroom

A special thankyou to the hard working team of back room staff led by Glenda Neil (Competition Co-ordinator) and Mark Compton (Chief Steward). Clearly a well-oiled machine! As this is Glenda’s final year of involvement after 12 hard but fun working years we all wish her well and know she will continue to follow the results with interest in years to come. Shona White will be taking over Glenda’s role as Competition Co-ordinator. Glenda knows she is leaving the organisation in capable hands.

Finallyit is with much pleasure and pride for the entire wine show team that the line up of trophy winning wines was deemed as a showcase of New Zealand’s best. The three days of judging resulted in a range of wines that truly reflect what the New Zealand wine industry is capable of achieving in the form of winemaking excellence. The other rewarding fact is that apart from the sparkling wine, all trophy-winning wines were bottled under screwcap!

Congratulations to all medal winners!

Brent Marris

November 2004