Hawke's Bay grapes take wine to new high

The Hawke's Bay grape has been chosen to take flight with Air New Zealand after being selected for pouring on passenger services.
Morton Estate's signature variety, chardonnay, attracted the attention of the airline with the White Label Chardonnay and the Nikau Reserve Chardonnay given the nod.
The chardonnay variety is sourced from Hawke's Bay's Morton Estate vineyard, Riverview.
There has also been recent acclaim for Morton Estate's Black Label Methode Traditionelle which is produced from grapes sourced between Hawke's Bay and Marlborough.
It took "Best in Class" at the London International Wine and Spirit Competition, while a Gold Medal was picked up at the recent Spiegelau International Wine Competition by the estate's 2000 Blanc de Blanc Methode Traditionelle.
Leading wine commentator tizwine.com described Morton Estate as being "at the forefront" of sparkling wines.