This month is simply oozing with news on all things booze-related and there's so much going on it's hard to keep up. But challenge is my middle name, so I'll attempt to squeeze as much as I can of what's been going on in the world of wine and whatnot into this column and whatever's left will just have to wait until next week.
Before I begin though, if you've been wondering why on earth our supermarkets and online retailers have been flooded with cheap local wines lately then you should read Mike White's article "Sour Grapes" in the latest issue of North and South magazine.
If you are concerned about why so many wineries appear to be going belly up, or if you're remotely interested in the ramifications on our New Zealand Wine brand overseas of the chronic oversupply of the past two vintages, then this article spells it all out in plain English (any writer who uses the word "huckery" in North and South is all right by me).
It is a sobering reality check, and while in my opinion it will probably take years to right the wrongs, our industry needs your support to get back to what we're good at - and that is producing sensibly small quantities of superior quality wine that's sought after the world over.
Wine lovers out there will know that Craggy Range are no strangers to winning awards for their pinot noir, but last month saw a special milestone.
Their 2008 Te Muna Road vineyard pinot noir from Martinborough picked up the coveted wine of the show trophy in the tri-Nations wine competition.
The Te Muna Road pinot is one of the most in-demand wines in the Craggy catalogue, and it has fans across the globe. It's a style I've enjoyed since its inception because of its spicy perfume and lush cherry-laden flavours - so it's no surprise to me that it beat the Aussie and South African competition.
To top it off, they also received trophies for best red wine and best pinot noir, as well as five gold medals in the merlot, viognier, riesling, bordeaux blend and sweet wine classes of the competition.
In the tri-nations competition wines are selected by leading critics from New Zealand, South Africa and Australia to represent their country and 12 wines from each country compete in different classes.
This year, New Zealand took overall honours with the highest number of trophies, followed by Australia.
Top wine critic, writer, and colourful jersey wearer Bob Campbell selected the wines to represent New Zealand and was thrilled with the outcome. "It was a fantastic achievement to beat Australia and South Africa so convincingly," the master of wine said. "The top wine of the show, Craggy Range 2008 Te Muna pinot noir made a significant contribution to that success as well as sending strong signals that New Zealand makes world-class pinot noir.
"It's a fantastic pinot with the sort of power and perfume capable of humbling many highly priced burgundies."
Since the inaugural competition in 2003, the Tri-nations champion wine has been from Australia three times, South Africa once and New Zealand four times. Craggy Range won the wine of show trophy in 2007 for their 2005 Le Sol syrah.
They say the best things come in threes and that's rung true for the folk at Marlborough's Nautilus Estate as news came through that all three wines in their Opawa range raked in gold medals at the Perth Royal Wine Show.
The winning wines were the Opawa sauvignon blanc 2010, the Opawa pinot gris 2010 and the Opawa pinot noir 2008.
Brett Bermingham is especially proud of the 2010 sauvignon blanc and said: "It's a new addition to the range and this is the first competition for which it has been submitted." Brett reckons that the intense aromas which come from great fruit selection and a small barrel-fermented component are the key to the wine's appeal.
The Opawa pinot gris 2010 and the Opawa pinot noir 2008 were awarded the highest marks in their categories.
Bermingham has just returned from a marketing trip in Australia and is ecstatic about the results. He says: "The timing is perfect. I have just spent the past two weeks tasting these wines across all the main cities in Australia.
"Everyone who tasted Opawa wines were incredibly enthusiastic.
"It is great to see that the punters and the judges agree in this case. What is more, the Opawa wines outclassed wines considerably more expensive than themselves, and offer tremendous value.
"It is a great result."
I agree, and for those curious about the name, Opawa means "smoky river" in Maori. And the Opawa River runs through the centre of Blenheim.
One of New Zealand's most historically significant and secretive wineries, Stonecroft in Hawke's Bay's Gimblett Gravels district, is holding a cellar vintage sale this Labour weekend.
They will be offering older vintage wines for sale which will include a mix of important, rare wines and some good bargains in this one-off event.
"On Friday October 22 we will be giving our mail-order customers the opportunity to attend a preview of the sale, but on Saturday October 23, the sale will be open to the public from 11am to 5pm," says Stonecroft's Andria Monin.
"We will also be offering a complimentary vertical tasting of our Ruhanui wines."
The sale will be held at the Old Winery at Stonecroft, 121 Mere Rd, Hastings. www.stonecroft.co.nz
One of my favourite fusions has just scored big in the United States. The Old Mout (named after Nelson's Moutere Valley and pronounced "moot") BoysenCider is a blend of boysenberry wine and cider which is made by the good folk at Redwood Cellars in Motueka near Nelson.
Nelson is no stranger to world class cider production and recently boutique producer Redwood Cellars collected a whopping seven medals at the highly regarded Indy International Wine Competition. The annual event attracted 3000 entries and is the largest scientifically organised and independent wine competition in the US. The BoysenCider walked took gold, their Feijoa & Cider, Scrumpy and Cidre scored silvers and their sparkling wines won bronze.
"The BoysenCider is one of Old Mout Cider's top sellers" says Redwood Cellars director Scott Chapman.
"We've always said we have the best tasting ciders in the world - now we've got the medal to prove it. We've had triple-digit percentage growth in the last year for our fruit ciders, which is testament to our focus on innovation, our commitment to using the very best ingredients and our world-class cider-making methods," he says.
At $14.99 for a four-pack of 330ml bottles and $10 for the 1.25l plastic bottle, you can find Old Mout Ciders in supermarkets throughout New Zealand.
Triumphant again
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