Awards season has come to a close in New Zealand and it has proven another successful year for our local brands, with four trophies and eleven gold medals earned across three major shows.
The country’s premier wine award event is the New Zealand Wine of the Year (formerly known as the Air New Zealand Wine Awards).
The biggest winner here was the Mud House Single Vineyard Mound Riesling 2018, which went home with trophies for both ‘Best Canterbury Wine’ and ‘Best Single Vineyard White Wine.’ The Mud House South Island Pinot Gris 2019 also did well, returning with a gold medal.
The New World Wine Awards, meanwhile, are imbued with a strong consumer focus. New World is a supermarket chain and all winning wines get endorsed, stocked and heavily promoted by New World after the event.
Here, Madam Sass Pinot Noir Rosé 2019 was the standout, earning a gold medal and the title of champion rosé for the second year running. Mud House Sub Region Series Rapaura Sauvignon Blanc 2019 also secured a gold medal.
Finally, the New Zealand International Wine Show is the largest wine competition held in New Zealand. Entry is open for wines from any country and made from any grape variety.
Waipara Hills Waipara Valley Riesling 2018 really earned its stripes at this one, securing a gold medal and trophy for ‘Champion Riesling.’
See below for the full table of trophy and golds for our New Zealand brands on the NZ show circuit.
The New Zealand International Wine Show also proved special for our Barossa Valley brand Grant Burge, in particular for Grant Burge Barossa Ink Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, which won trophies for ‘Champion Cabernet Sauvignon and Predominant Blends’ and ‘Champion Commercial Red Wine’ as well as a gold medal. Likewise, Grant Burge 5th Generation Shiraz 2018 also picked up a gold.
To crown it off, further afield, our Mud House Kosher Sauvignon Blanc 2019 – the first of its kind in the Accolade Wines stable – has also won gold at the Terravino Wine Awards in Israel.
Cleighten Cornelius, Senior Winemaker for New Zealand, commented, “These results have been very pleasing – it is nice to know that all the team’s hard work from the vineyard to the bottle has paid off and that we are travelling in the right direction with our New Zealand wines!”
Show/Wine | Vintage | Award |
---|---|---|
New World Wine Awards | ||
Madam Sass Pinot Noir Rosé | 2019 | Gold +Trophy (Champion Rosé) |
Mud House Sub Region Series Rapaura Sauvignon Blanc | 2019 | Gold |
New Zealand International Wine Show | ||
Waipara Hills Waipara Valley Riesling | 2018 | Gold + Trophy (Champion Riesling) |
Waipara Hills Pinot Gris | 2018 | Gold |
Waipara Hills Waipara Valley Pinot Noir Rosé | 2019 | Gold |
Mud House Single Vineyard Home Block Pinot Gris | 2019 | Gold |
Mud House Single Vineyard Woolshed Sauvignon Blanc | 2019 | Gold |
Mud House Central Otago Pinot Noir | 2017 | Gold |
Madam Sass Central Otago Pinot Noir Rosé | 2019 | Gold |
New Zealand Wine of the Year | ||
Mud House South Island Pinot Gris | 2019 | Gold |
Mud House Single Vineyard Mound Riesling | 2018 | Gold + Trophy (Best Canterbury Wine)Trophy (Best Single Vineyard White Wine) |