Monday, 7 October, 2013

Announcing the South Island’s best wine tourism experiences

Selwyn Food and Wine Trail was today named the best Wine Tourism Service in the South Island.

The annual Best of Wine Tourism Awards honour outstanding wine tourism businesses in the South Island, in awards run by the prestigious Great Wine Capitals (GWC) Global Network.

Selwyn Food and Wine Trail is a collection of artisan wine and food producers in Canterbury’s beautiful Selwyn district. Experiences range from unique and memorable wine tastings with the growers, to sampling fresh regional produce, and destination cafes and restaurants serving local food and fine wine.

The Christchurch | South Island region was selected to join the exclusive GWC network four years ago, following a Christchurch City Council-led bid for inclusion. It includes the Waipara Valley, Canterbury, Marlborough, Nelson and Central Otago wine regions.

Chief Judge Dr Joanna Fountain, a senior lecturer in Tourism Management at Lincoln University, says these awards provide an important opportunity to reward, publicise and encourage excellence in the wine tourism industry.

“The number of applications received from first-time entrants in the awards this year also reflects the growing role of wine tourism in many New Zealand regions.”

Northburn Station, in Central Otago, won the architecture and landscapes and wine tourism restaurant categories. Owners Jan and Tom Pinckney showed great vision in creating this building and landscape and to get recognition for that is great, says General Manager Paul Tudgay.

“We believe that wine tourism is still underdeveloped in New Zealand and that these awards are vital to raise standards and encourage innovation,” says Paul Tudgay.

Brancott Estate Heritage Centre is located at Brancott Vineyard, the site of the first Sauvignon Blanc plantings in Marlborough. It is one of Marlborough’s premier cellar doors, with majestic views over the region, and won the Sustainable Wine Tourism Practices and Innovative Wine Tourism categories for their guided wine experiences The Living Land and The Mastery of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc respectively.

Our regional winners now go on to compete against others from the network’s nine other cities and wine regions at the international awards in Napa Valley, California. At the Wine and Food Festival in North Hagley Park on December 7, the regional winners and any international winners from Christchurch I South Island will be presented with their awards.

Mayor Bob Parker says he welcomes the opportunity GWC membership provides to promote Christchurch and wine tourism in the wider South Island regularly to an international audience.

“We see huge value for our city and the wider South Island in using the awards to promote our region to wine tourists,” says Mayor Bob Parker.

For more about the winners, categories and criteria see: www.southislandwine.co.nz/awards.asp

Background
What is the Great Wine Capitals (GWC) Global Network?
The GWC Global Network is an international network of cities that are gateways to world-famous wine regions. It aims to promote tourism, education and business exchange.
What New Zealand region was chosen to join this prestigious network?
Christchurch | South Island is a central hub uniting the five South Island wine regions of Marlborough, Nelson/Tasman, Waipara Valley, Canterbury and Central Otago.
These regions account for approximately 65 per cent of New Zealand's total vineyard area and 75 percent of exports. They were selected to join the network four years ago, following a Christchurch City Council-led bid for inclusion.
What other regions belong to the network internationally?
Other members of the prestigious network include Bilbao | Rioja in Spain, Bordeaux in France, Cape Town | Cape Winelands in South Africa, Firenze in Italy, Mainz | Rheinhessen in Germany, Mendoza in Argentina, Porto in Portugal, San Francisco | Napa Valley in the United States and Valparaìso | Casablanca Valley in Chile. Only one wine region from each country can become a member of the GWC Global Network.

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