It was always going to be an impossible task to do justice to all 25+ wineries exhibiting their wines at the annual ‘Hot Red Hawke’s Bay’ expo this time. Normally I put my head down and focus, tasting a ‘tight’ selection from each producer, and eschew talking too much to the winemakers and many friends from the trade who are invariably present. That way, I can get some reasonable notes and impressions of a good number of the wines on show in total. Many attendees have a theme to follow, such as ‘Chardonnays only’, or ‘New Release Bordeaux’ Blends’, or ‘Syrahs’. It reduces the job significantly. But sometimes you can’t help but be drawn into conversation, or initiate it, as the wines, goings-on and background at each exhibitor are just too interesting. Suddenly the three hours allocated to get a look at 200 or so wines just disappears. So this is my excuse for not publishing my notes taken from the 8 producers I did spend a decent amount of time with. With about 15 minutes to go, I did my rounds seeing the rest, and said my hellos, taking some photos. Here I a selection of photos of some of the exhibitors’ personnel. Afterall, wine is all about people, isn’t it? www.winehawkesbay.co.nz
Elisha Milmine and James Medina – Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers
Melanie Lawson – Cypress Wines
Richard Brown – Tironui Estate
Philip Horn – Unison Vineyard
Hugh Crichton – Vidal Estate
Sarah Herries (Villa Maria) and Pierre Simonet – Esk Valley Estate
Kim Lawton and Kate Franklin – Sileni Estates
Tony Bish – Sacred Hill
Greg Allinson – Pask Winery
Alex Roper and Vicky Webster – Mission Estate Winery
Steve Skinner and Vince Labat – Elephant Hill
Miles Dineen – Crossroads Winery
Dave Nicholas – Coopers Creek
