The trophy winners from the inaugural Marlborough Wine Show were announced last night, the Invivo Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2011 winning the Champion Wine of the Show. Invivo is the label for Rob Cameron and Tim Lightbourne, who founded the company in 2007, making wine from Marlborough and Central Otago fruit. Invivo has enjoyed considerable success from the start.
While the Marlborough Wine Show has judging classes for the different sub-regions in Marlborough, the trophy awards for Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling and Pinot Noir are presented according to vintage. This is another interesting and welcome innovation by competition director Belinda Jackson, in that it recognises quality within a harvest, allowing for the characteristics of each vintage. This also highlights the ability of each of the varieties to develop with time in bottle. Following are the trophies awarded: