Hawke's Bay's Sileni Estates has scooped four medals, three of them golds, at the recent Selections Mondiales des vins Canada - the largest wine competition in the Canadian/North American market.
"We are absolutely thrilled with the four medals," Sileni owner and CEO Graeme Avery said.
"This is one of the world's most
influential wine competitions and to perform so well up against wines from all over the world reinforces Sileni's commitment to making world class fruit-forward New Zealand wines."
Mr Avery said the winery team were especially excited about the gold medal awarded to the Cellar Selection pinot gris, a wine with wide distribution throughout Canada and which is quickly gaining appeal worldwide.
The winery also picked up golds for "The Lodge" chardonnay 2010 and "The Straits" sauvignon blanc 2010.
Sileni also picked up a silver with "The Triangle" merlot 2009.
Chief winemaker Grant Edmonds said that while New Zealand sauvignon blanc consistently did well at international competitions, it was good to see equal recognition for chardonnay and pinot gris from Hawke's Bay.
"These varietals develop depth and complexity to complement the fruit flavours," he said.
"It is also particularly gratifying to achieve a good result for merlot, which is the unsung hero of New Zealand red wines and beginning to get the respect it deserves."
This year's competition received 1620 entries from around the world.
