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Liquor giant Lion Nathan has responded to the furore over its Wither Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2006 by offering a $5 discount on bottles of the wine - meaning supermarket shoppers can now get it for $8.99. The coupon asks drinkers to "make up their own mind".
It is
12 days since it was revealed a different wine was sent to competition judges than that largely found on shop shelves.
Wither Hills winemaker and director Brent Marris subsequently returned all the medals won by the wine, including a gold in the Liquorland Top 100 and silver at the industry's own Air New Zealand awards.
The wine had already been denied a five-star rating by Cuisine magazine and stripped of a gold it won at the New Zealand International Wine Show.
Mr Marris also resigned as chief judge of the Air New Zealand awards.
The coupon, available in today's newspaper, can be used at supermarkets and liquor outlets.
It can be used for one bottle only and is valid until Sunday.
There is a limit of one coupon per customer.
It can be used in conjunction with existing deals, meaning at New World, where it is already on special for $13.99, it will now cost $8.99.
The wine submitted to judges was from a separate early batch called BR315 of which 2228 cases were made.
Total production was more than 100,000 cases - essentially giving consumers a 1 in 50 chance of buying the award-winner.
Consumers can identify the batch by looking at a number printed on the bottle beneath the back label.
Lion Nathan corporate affairs director Liz Read said the coupon was not a response to the sales of Wither Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2006 plummeting since the furore. She said their data showed sales had either stayed at the same level or gone up.
She said the coupon was "a reward for recognising a great brand".
"It's getting back to consumers and saying, look, at the end of the day, you be the judge."
The Marris family sold Wither Hills to Lion Nathan for $52 million in 2002. The 2000 Sauvignon Blanc was one of the most celebrated New Zealand wines.
It won 10 trophies and nine gold medals, and 240,000 bottles were produced.
More than a million bottles of Wither Hills Sauvignon Blanc are now produced each year.
It sells for up to $21.99 a bottle but has readily been found for $13.99 in supermarkets where it is understood to have outsold its closest rival, Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc, by two bottles to one over the past year.
