What was once dismissed as useless Hawke's Bay farmland has received a double accolade at the International Wine Challenge in London.
Two wines from the Gimblett Gravels region west of Hastings took out the top trophy honours for New Zealand wines in red and white varieties, delighting the chairman of the Gimblett Gravels Winegrowers Association Tony Bish.
"For Gimblett Gravels wines to win Best New Zealand Red Wine and Best New Zealand White Wine is an outstanding achievement," he said, adding that the best was yet to come.
"Quality will reach even greater heights with increased vine age and experience at obtaining the best expression of the terroir."
Crossroads Winemakers Collection Syrah 2012 was awarded Best New Zealand Red Wine and Best New Zealand Syrah, while Pask Declaration Chardonnay 2012 received trophies for the top Hawke's Bay chardonnay, the top New Zealand chardonnay and the top New Zealand white wine over all categories. Those awards followed a gold medal win.
"The award was a recognition of the development of chardonnay in New Zealand," Pask managing director and winemaker Kate Radburnd said.
The Declaration chardonnay releases had consistently received gold medal awards since being introduced in 1991.
"To achieve trophy success from the "wine capital" of the world with a variety that we at Pask are immensely passionate about is a great honour."
She said dedication to the variety and the skills of Bay winery and vineyard teams had been underlined by the awards.
Crossroads winemaker Miles Dinneen said the award, and recognition for its syrah, was memorable.
"It is great to receive this for our syrah at such a prestigious competition," he said.
"Our Elms vineyard in the Gimblett Gravels district consistently produces gold medal and trophy wines and this is the biggest one yet."
The International Wine Challenge, now in its 31st year, is among the world's finest and most meticulously judged competitions. Throughout the rigorous judging processes, each medal-winning wine is tasted on three occasions by at least 10 different judges.
The potential of Gimblett Gravels, which is spread over just 800ha, was recognised by wine entrepreneurs who saw the potential of the free-draining gravel soils and warm climate.
In just over quarter of a century the district has developed a reputation as a world-beater, renowned for its Bordeaux varietals such as merlot, cabernet sauvignon and syrahs.