The trophy winners from the 2016 Royal Easter Show Wine Awards were announced at the awards dinner at The Pullman Hotel last night. The Champion Wine of the Show was the Villa Maria ‘Reserve’ Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2014, which also took the Champion Chardonnay trophy. The results have been yet another success for the Villa Maria Estates group. As well as the Champion Chardonnay Trophy, Villa Maria took the Champion Sauvignon Blanc and Champion Syrah Trophies. Associated label Esk Valley was awarded trophies for Champion Other White Varieties and Rosé, and Te Awa, also under the Villa Maria umbrella was awarded the Champion Merlot Trophy. And to cap it off, Villa Maria’s chief winemaker Nick Picone was awarded Winemaker of the Year.
The Villa Maria group was clearly the most successful exhibitor at the 2016 Royal Easter Show Wine Awards, with Villa Maria labels winning 14 gold medals. Esk Valley won 3 golds, and Vidal and Te Awa one gold medal apiece, making a total for the group of 19 out of the 77 golds awarded this year.
A number of wine competitions have awards for older library wines and those that show consistency over a number of vintages. Winner of this year’s Heritage Rosebowl was the Newton-Forrest ‘Cornerstone’ with vintages 2002, 2006 and 2013.
Click here to see a list of the gold medal winning wines, and my analysis of the gold medal results. Go to www.wineshow.co.nz for all the medal winners.
The New Zealand Wine Hall of Fame
Also announced at the awards dinner was Oz Clarke, the U.K. wine communicator being inducted into the New Zealand Wine Hall of Fame. Following is a list of inductees to date:
Inaugural 2005: James Busby, Romeo Bragato, Heinrich Breidecker, Charles Levet, Joseph Soler, Israel Wendel, Friedrich Wohnsiedler, Assid Abraham Corban, Tom McDonald, George Mazuran
2006: Mate Brajkovich, Alex Corban, David Hohnen, Frank Yukich
2007: Joseph Annis Corban, Dr Richard Smart, Ross Spence
2008: Bryan Mogridge, Kevyn Moore
2009: Peter Hubscher, Terry Dunleavy
2010: Ross Goodin, Richard Riddiford
2011: Sir George Fistonich
2012: John Buck
2013: Jane Hunter, Bob Campbell MW
2014: Alan Brady, Larry McKenna
2015: Peter Babich, Joe Babich
2016: Oz Clarke
The Trophy Winners
The trophy winning wines are listed below:
Champion Wine of the Show – Royal Easter Show Trophy:
Villa Maria ‘Reserve’ Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2014
Champion Sparkling – Rapid Labels Trophy:
Te Hana ‘Reserve’ Brut NV
Champion Riesling – Red Badge Security Trophy:
Wairau River ‘Summer’ Riesling 2015
Champion Pinot Gris – Datacom Trophy:
Whitehaven Marlborough Pinot Gris 2015
Champion Gewürztraminer – The Village Press Trophy:
Johanneshof Cellars Marlborough Gewurztraminer 2014
Champion Sauvignon Blanc – Guala Closures Trophy:
Villa Maria ‘Reserve’ Wairau Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2015
Champion Wine of Other Varieties – DrinksBiz Trophy:
Esk Valley Hawke’s Bay Verdelho 2015
Champion Chardonnay – New World Trophy:
Villa Maria ‘Reserve’ Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2014
Champion Sweet Wine – Corporate AV Services:
Giesen ‘The Brothers’ Marlborough Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc 2013
Champion Rosé – Esvin Wine Resources Trophy:
Esk Valley Hawke’s Bay Rosé 2015
Champion Pinot Noir – New Zealand WineGrower Magazine Trophy:
Two Degrees Pinot Noir 2014
Champion Cabernet Sauvignon & Cabernet Predominant – United Cleaning Trophy:
Babich ‘The Patriarch’ 2013
Champion Merlot & Merlot Predominant – Generator Rental Services Trophy:
Te Awa ‘Single Estate’ Gimblett Gravels Hawke’s Bay Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
Champion Syrah – The Pullman Hotels Trophy:
Villa Maria ‘Reserve’ Gimblett Gravels Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2013
Auckland Agricultural & Pastoral Association Heritage Rosebowl
Newton-Forest ‘Cornerstone’ 2013 2006 2002
Wine Maker of the Year – Royal Agricultural Society Gold Medal:
Nick Picone (Villa Maria)
