Craggy Range Winery named top winery for 2017

For the first time, Craggy Range have been awarded the annual Golden Grapes Award for 2017 from Bob Campbell MW (Master of Wine). Photo /Supplied

Following on from a successful year, Craggy Range Winery can now add another accolade to its growing list of achievements.

One of New Zealand's leading wine writers, Bob Campbell MW (Master of Wine), has awarded Craggy Range his annual Golden Grapes Award for 2017, noting that the award "recognises contribution to the New Zealand wine industry and to the people of New Zealand".

Craggy Range Winery chief executive Michael Wilding said it is "truly an honour and very humbling" to receive such an award from Bob Campbell MW.

"We have a very clear ambition to sit alongside the great wineries of the world, so to receive an award like this gives us a tremendous amount of confidence that we are on the right track. Bob Campbell MW is incredibly respected both here and Internationally, so for him to recognise is both humbling but also encourages us to go keep pushing harder, both on the wine and hospitality sides of the business".

Earlier in the year, the winery received 97 points for its 2015 Sophia and 98 points for the 2015 Aroha and Le Sol wines, tasted by Mr Campbell.

Mr Wilding believes the award recognises not only their wines, but also the significant contribution the Peabody family have made with their investment and support, as well as "the work our team does day to day, whether that is in overseas markets building the NZ wine category or by turning on tremendous hospitality for guests visiting Hawkes Bay."

"There are lot of learnings to take out of the past 12 months, but looking forward, we have a clear focus on continual improvement and evolution of our farming practices, winemaking, hospitality and community engagement", he said.

In his article, Mr Campbell comments that "Craggy Range has added value to New Zealand wine in [the] important overseas markets."

"They have made a massive contribution to wine tourism in Hawke's Bay and beyond. Their Giants winery and Terrôir restaurant add a serious touch of glamour to land that might otherwise be used for high-density housing or grazing sheep. I can't begin to imagine how many millions of dollars they have pumped into the local economy."

Last year was one of their most highly awarded years for Craggy Range which was included in US Wine & Spirits magazine's Top 100 Global Wineries for 2017, the only New Zealand Winery to make the list which included iconic producers from around the globe, such as Domaine Zind-Humbrecht, Louis Roederer, Stags Leap, Krug, Louis Jadot, Ridge, and Penfolds.