Giesen Wines adds to impressive Trophy tally

14 November 2016

Giesen Wines adds to impressive Trophy tally at Air New Zealand Wine Awards claiming three champion titles

Giesen Wines has wowed the judges at this year’s Air New Zealand Wine Awards, winning three champion trophies at the prestigious competition announced in Auckland on the weekend.

The family-owned business claimed the Open Champion White Wine Trophy with its Giesen Estate Riesling 2015, which also won the Champion Riesling Trophy and the Champion Sweet White Wine with The Brothers Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2014.

In total, 18 trophies were presented with Giesen Wines being one of the most successful with their three trophies.

The Air New Zealand Wine Awards are one of the most highly-regarded in New Zealand; this year 1400 wines were entered and 91 gold medals awarded. Giesen Wines won a total of five gold medals this year:
Giesen Estate Riesling 2015
Giesen The Brothers Late Harvest Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2014
Giesen Single Vineyard Ridge Block Marlborough Pinot Noir 2015
Giesen Single Vineyard The Fuder Clayvin Marlborough Chardonnay 2015
Giesen The August 1888 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2014

Marcel Giesen, one of the three brothers who own Giesen Wines, said they were very proud of their achievement at the awards.

“What these wins really highlight is the great diversity of our portfolio, offering award-winning wines across the spectrum. My brothers and I are absolutely thrilled with this success. To win one Air New Zealand champion trophy is always an honour, but to win three trophies is absolutely amazing.”

“Most satisfying for us is the fact that our consumers have chosen the Giesen Estate Riesling as their favourite Riesling already. Giesen Estate Riesling ranks as the highest selling Riesling in the New Zealand market, by both volume and value,” he said.

Since 2012, the German style Riesling has established an impressive track record, attracting a swag of significant accolades. This is the wine’s sixth and seventh champion trophy, and its 30th gold medal. It has also won the New Zealand Riesling winery of the Year 2016 at the New York Wine Competition and has notched three Best of Class awards.

Giesen said the 2015 Riesling is blended from cool-climate vineyards throughout Marlborough and Waipara.

“A cooler than usual start to the growing season soon gave way to typical hot, dry conditions with no rain. This resulted in small berries, which were picked at optimal ripeness in excellent condition, with high concentration of flavour,” Marcel said.

Giesen The Brothers Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc has carved a similarly successful path, winning eight trophies and 37 gold medals and/trophy awards since 2011.

“We used two separate parcels from our Alma St and Matthews Lane vineyards in Marlborough. The age of the vines really helped build concentration into the wine. The fruit was block picked by hand and crushed by foot before being basket pressed over several days to extract as much as possible of the precious liquid. Due to its high sugar the ferment was slow and lasted for several months. This also helped build mouth feel and complexity into the wine,” Marcel said.

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