Press Release
Tuesday March 19th

Marlborough Wines Dazzle at Diamond Jubilee Easter Show

• Chardonnay takes top honours
• Nine trophies for Marlborough wines

Nine of the 17 Trophies awarded at this year’s Diamond Jubilee Easter Wine Show, went to Marlborough, including Champion Wine of the Show, awarded to Matua Valley Single Vineyard Marlborough Chardonnay 2011.

Having already won the Trophy for top Chardonnay, taking out the Champion Wine of the Show was a major bonus for Matua Valley. But the accolades didn’t stop there. Matua Valley’s winemaker Nikolai St George was also announced as Winemaker of the Year.

It was the icing on the cake for the Marlborough region, having already taken out all but two of the show’s white wine trophies. In total the region won the top trophy for Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Sparkling and Sweet Wine. The only two white varietal trophies not to come Marlborough’s way were Viognier and Wine of Other Varieties.

The Heritage Rose Bowl for the best set of three wines of different aged vintages also came to Marlborough, being won by Hunter’s Marlborough Riesling, 2012, 2009 and 2006.

Wine Marlborough’s General Manager Marcus Pickens said it was a stunning result and showed the versatility of Marlborough as a wine-producing region.

“To have seven out of nine white wine varieties win a trophy in one wine show is an indication of the depth of the industry here. There is so much versatility in Marlborough and these results show that,” Mr Pickens said. “What is also interesting is that our trophy wines vintages range from 2008 through to 2012, so this was not just about one year of stunning wines. This shows the on-going quality of Marlborough.”

It wasn’t just about the wines at the Saturday night gala dinner in Auckland. Marlburian Jane Hunter CNZM, OBE, was the first woman to be inducted into the New Zealand Wine Hall of Fame, along with well-known wine writer and educator, Bob Campbell MW.

Celebrating its 60th birthday this year, the Diamond Jubilee Easter Wine Show is the oldest show in the country.

Marlborough’s trophy winning wines were:

New World Champion Chardonnay – Matua Valley Single Vineyard Marlborough Chardonnay 2011
The Village Press Champion Gewurztraminer – Saint Clair Godfrey’s Creek Reserve Gewürztraminer 2009
Guala Closures Champion Sauvignon Blanc – Saint Clair Wairau Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2012
Red Badge Security Champion Riesling – Crosse Vineyard Marlborough Riesling 2012
Datacom Champion Pinot Gris - Brancott Estate Special Reserve Pinot Gris 2012
Riedel Champion Sweet Wine - Giesen The Brothers Marlborough Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc 2012
Edward Sound Systems Champion Sparkling - Deutz Marlborough Cuvee Blanc de Blancs 2008
O-I New Zealand Champion Wine of the Show – Matua Valley Single Vineyard Marlborough Chardonnay 2011
Royal Agricultural Society Gold Medal for Winemaker of the Year – Nikolai St George – Matua Wines

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