Bay syrah wows them in London

Rod McDonald

Hawke's Bay's international reputation as a syrah-producing gem, and the reputation of a relatively small player in the wine industry, has been boosted big time after Rod McDonald Wines scooped up four trophies at the International Wine Challenge Awards in London.

The trophies all went in the direction of the Quarter Acre Syrah 2015, to the delight of winemaker Rod McDonald.

"The win is big for us and for New Zealand," he said of the success the Quarter Acre 2015 posted, particularly with it taking the Best International Syrah trophy.

"For a small business like ours to scoop the Best International Syrah and the Best New Zealand Red - it is a big deal."

As well as those awards, the Quarter Acre picked up Best New Zealand Syrah and Best Hawke's Bay Syrah.

Mr McDonald said the success "shines a light on our region as a serious player in the crafting of great wine".

Mr McDonald's multiple trophy-winning syrah had earlier picked up a gold medal and, with other gold medal winners, duly progressed to the trophy round.

There were 1236 gold medal-winning wines for the judges to assess, and in the great field of reds Mr McDonald and the Bay came up trumps.

"It is another block in the foundation of our export business and building a global market for our wines."

Mr McDonald said the export market could be challenging for smaller regional wineries and picking up such accolades benefited not only his winery, but also the region and New Zealand.

"This win will build our profile, help increase distribution and cement our foothold in the international market."

He said there had always been the opportunity to make wines that were safe and acceptable and where quality was "a given".

But he said a couple of seasons ago the winery made the decision to begin creating wines that would be more polarising and more individual with greater personality and the latest awards had appeared to underline that.

"This is a real-life confirmation that it's what people want to see more of."

The success at the 34th annual awards came a week after the Quarter Acre Syrah 2015 picked up the Platinum Best of Category title in the Best New Zealand Red Rhone Varietals section at the UK Decanter Wine Awards.