A red pinot noir that has a French Burgundy feel about it has won Tauranga-based Steve Bird Winery and Vineyards a gold medal in the prestigious Air New Zealand Wine Awards.
Bird 2009 Big Barrel Pinot Noir, made from the grapes grown in the Old Schoolhouse Vineyard in Marlborough, was one
of 12 wines handed a pure gold award in the JF Hillebrand New Zealand Champion Pinot Noir category.
Another 20 wines gained gold awards (totalling 32), making pinot noir the most hotly contested and successful category. The judges' tasting took place in Auckland last week.
"We are delighted. It was a very strong class with top-flight wine that attracts top money. The pinot noir was the wine we put the biggest effort into," said Mr Bird, who started his latest wine company in 2005 after selling Thornbury Wines to the Villa Maria Group.
The next best categories were sauvignon blanc and chardonnay, with 14 golds each, and riesling with 12 golds. The pure medals are handed to wines that are 100 per cent sustainably grown and produced.
Lake Chalice - co-owner Chris Gambitsis lives in Papamoa - also collected a pure gold medal for its premium 2010 Raptor Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, after winning gold for the 2009 vintage last year.
"It's huge and keeps us on track," said Mr Gambitsis. "The Raptor is more of a winemaker's wine and we make it a little differently. The straight sauvignon blanc is the consumer wine."
Mr Gambitsis has been running Lake Chalice Wines with Blenheim-based Phil Binnie for 22 years. They also won two silvers with their 2009 Raptor Chardonnay and 2009 Pinot Gris, which also won gold and the trophy at this year's Royal Easter Show.
Mr Bird, a winemaker for 32 years, said his pinot noir has been described as "a little bit eurocentric - it has a hint of the French winemaking approach to it."
Bird Winery and Vineyards entered for the first time and also walked away with a pure silver medal for its Bird 2010 Sauvignon Blanc and a pure bronze for its Bird Riesling, which last week won a Blue Gold at the Sydney International Top 1000 awards.
The Bird 2009 Big Barrel Pinot Noir also won a silver medal at the Japanese International Wine challenge.
Mr Bird said the overall quality on show at the Air New Zealand awards was fantastic - the 2010 vintage was the best in 30 years.
The gold medal-winning wines will compete for 19 Air New Zealand Awards trophies and they will be announced at a gala dinner on November 20.
A red pinot noir that has a French Burgundy feel about it has won Tauranga-based Steve Bird Winery and Vineyards a gold medal in the prestigious Air New Zealand Wine Awards.
Bird 2009 Big Barrel Pinot Noir, made from the grapes grown in the Old Schoolhouse Vineyard in Marlborough, was one
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