Syrahs lift Bay winemakers to top of awards pedestal

It's official: Hawke's Bay syrah rules.
The trophy winners in the 2008 Air New Zealand Wine Awards were announced on Saturday night and Hawke's Bay wineries have collected the two biggest awards, both for their syrah.
Church Road Reserve Syrah 2007 won the Champion Wine of the Show Trophy, while Crossroads Winery picked up the inaugural Bell Gully Champion Sustainable Wine Trophy for sustainably-produced wines with its Elms Vineyard Hawke's Bay Reserve Syrah 2007.
The Hawke's Bay and Marlborough regions dominated the awards, each claiming eight trophies. But with the top two awards in the bag, it was the Bay that could claim the honours.
It has been a good year for both the winning companies.
Church Road chief winemaker Chris Scott said the Champion Wine of the Show Trophy was the latest in a series of achievements.
"This has really cemented a lot of hard work in winemaking and viticulture to improve what we do," he said. "If you are regularly in gold medals and trophies, after a while it starts to cement the whole reputation."
The Church Road Reserve Hawke's Bay Chardonnay 2006 was announced the Champion Wine of the 2008 New Zealand International Wine Show.
The grapes for the Reserve Syrah 2007 came from the Gimblett Gravels and Bridge Pa, he said. Fruit from Gimblett Gravels provided the flavour concentration while that of Bridge Pa its "velvety" and subtle qualities.
The Church Road Reserve Syrah 2007 was due to be released in March next year, but Mr Scott said pressure to get it out earlier might see it on shelves sooner.
Crossroads Winery chief executive Noel Scanlan said a huge effort had gone into making the Elms vineyard, in the Gimblett Gravels area, and the Fernhill winery sustainable. "Given that this was the inaugural award for sustainability it's quite significant for us," he said. "The viticultural team put a lot of effort into making the vineyards sustainable ... to pick that award up is a real tribute.
"Everything is done in best practice for herbicides and pesticides, which means as little as possible. The Elms is almost organic as such."
Crossroads winery had also picked up awards this year for its Talisman wine, a secret blend of reds, and for chardonnay and gewurtstraminer.
The Elms Vineyard Hawke's Bay Reserve Syrah 2007 was available nationwide at $40 a bottle.