The tri-nations of wine competitions

Is there no end to new wine competitions? Probably not. One of the newest takes its inspiration not from wine and food circles but from sport, ensuring it gets a fanatical following from the majority of wine drinkers in the three countries that participate: Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Results of the third annual Tri Nations Wine Challenge, judged in Australia, confirm several predictable outcomes.

New Zealand pinot noir topped the show by winning the best red wine, the best tri-nations wine and best pinot noir.

New Zealand scored 162 points for pinot noirs against Australia's 85 points and South Africa's 16. The best merlot trophy also went to New Zealand.

Another predictable outcome was that the best white wine went to an Australian dry semillon rather than anything from New Zealand.

Good Australian semillon is usually far better balanced than New Zealand sauvignon blancs and chardonnays. No matter how much wow factor our whites have, they are often unbalanced in terms of acids, dryness, phenolics and so on.

Despite its goal to champion the best wines from the three countries, the Tri Nations Wine Challenge is pretty much a two-horse race.

Regular judge, writer and Master of Wine, Bob Campbell, predicts New Zealand will be the overall winner sooner or later.

We did predictably well with our strong suits - pinot noir, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and gewurztraminer - and have begun to edge Australia out of its shiraz complacency, says Campbell.

No doubt another judge, Australian writer, winemaker and former lawyer James Halliday is saying similar things for his country. You could hardly expect him not to, given that Australia took the trophy for best white wine, best aromatic wine (a riesling), unwooded white varietals or blends, rose, cabernet sauvignon, shiraz, bordeaux blends and other red varietals.

The disturbing proliferation of wine shows makes it almost possible to dismiss such competitions but they do provide a useful yardstick for new and lesser-known wines.

What differentiates the Tri Nations Wine Challenge from other shows is that it is unique in pitching just three countries against each other. And, given all three countries are in the Southern Hemisphere, this one compares like with like.

And while you may be thinking there is nothing alike about Australian shiraz and New Zealand syrah, let alone the sweet wines of South Africa, there are similarities.

All of these countries have intermediate to cool-climate wine-growing regions. All three are deemed new world, a dreadful but apt term by traditional wine-growing countries in the Northern Hemisphere.

This means that the approach to wine-making is generally more modern, less hampered by tradition and rules and therefore anything goes.

Any grape variety can be grown in any region and made into any possible blend of wines.

Australia took the biggest medal haul this year, winning 1740 to New Zealand's 1300, both of which were way ahead of South Africa, which took just 785 medals.

The third judge was South African Michael Fridjhon.

The world's largest wine show is held each year in London with close to 8000 wines being judged and one of the smallest is held in Gisborne.

Like them or loathe them, medals, trophies and competitions are only growing in number as is the quantity of wine made worldwide.

2005 TRI NATIONS WINE CHALLENGE WINNERS

White Wine

McWilliams Mount Pleasant Lovedale Semillon

Red Wine

2003 Olssens Slapjack Creek Pinot Noir

Tri Nations

Wine 2003 Olssens Slapjack Creek Pinot Noir

Sparkling

1998 Freycinet Radenti, Hardy Arras Chardonnay 2003, Saint Clair Omaka Reserve Chardonnay and 2003 Mulderbosch Barrel

Fermented

Aromatics 2000 Pewsey Vale The Contours Riesling and 2004 Villa Maria Keltern

Single Vineyard

Gewurztraminer Sauvignon Blanc 2004 Matua Valley Paretai Marlborough and 2004 Limbic Sauvignon Blanc Wooded White

Varietals or Blends

2004 Cape Jaffa Brocks Reef Semillon Sauvignon Blanc and 2002 Rijks Semillon

Unwooded White Varietals or Blends

1999 McWilliams Mount Pleasant Lovedale Semillon, 1999 Capercaillie Hunter Valley Semillon Rose 2004, Pepperjack Grenache Rose and 2005 Charles Melton Rose of Virginia

Pinot Noir

2003 Olssens Slapjack Creek Pinot Noir, 2003 Yabby Lake Vineyard Pinot Noir, Merlot 2002 Villa Maria Reserve Merlot and 2002 Mills Reef Elspeth Block 3
Merlot Shiraz

2002 Wirra Wirra RSW Shiraz and 2002 Kilikanoon Oracle Shiraz

Cabernet Sauvignon

2001 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon and 2002 The Yarra Yarra

Bordeaux Blends

2002 Haan Wilhelmus and 2001 Houghton Jack Mann

Other Red Varietal Blends

2003 Anderson Cellar Block Petit Verdot and 2002 Stanton & Killeen Durif

Sweet Wines

2004 Nederburg Noble Late Harvest and 2002 Brown Brothers Patricia Noble Riesling

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