While the pinot noir variety is not a traditional Hawke's Bay one and more aligned with Wairarapa and the South Island, two Hawke's Bay wineries have made something of an impact with it.
Not in the growing sense - the production sense.
Craggy Range at Havelock North is raising a glass of pinot noir after picking up a gold medal in the Global Pinot Noir Masters wine competition staged in the UK.
The competition judges pinot noirs from all over the world and Craggy Range's 2011 Prestige Collection Aroha Pinot Noir was the sole New Zealand recipient of a gold in its price category, where only six golds were awarded.
The winery also picked up a silver in a second category.
Craggy Range director Steve Smith said the gold for the Aroha was a strong endorsement for the company's "largely unheralded" pinot noir programme.
"We've been working on our [pinot noir] programme for 10 years so we are delighted to be recognised for this achievement," he said.
In the case of Mission Estate at Greenmeadows it is something of a landmark occasion as 50 years ago three short rows of pinot noir grapes were planted there, although they had long since disappeared.
At that time winemaker Brother John created the original "Mission Pinot" blend but then the variety slipped off the production menu.
A bit more than 10 years ago the chief winemaker re-launched the Mission's pinot noir stable using grapes sourced from what he said were the best of that variety's vineyards in Central Otago as well as Martinborough.
Since then pinot noir has grown to become about 10 per cent of the winery's production and it has begun to pick up the plaudits, like consistently being awarded gold medals for its sub-$20 Estate variety at the International Wine Challenge competitions.
Last year Mission Estate purchased the Cape Campbell Vineyard in the Awatere Valley of Marlborough and have just released its 2013 Vineyard Selection Marlborough Pinot Noir.
