Members of New Zealand’s most significant new vignoble took a tour of the country to show their wares. And exciting goods they were offering too. News of distinctively different wines emanating from the Waitaki Valley has been growing over the past few years, with high profile winemakers establishing a presence there, and internationally celebrities and entrepreneurs making serious investments in vineyards, and one building a winery. This growth of interest culminated in two top international awards for wines from the region this year. This travelling exhibition of nine of the wine labels cemented those results and it would be fair to say that the Waitaki Valley is here to stay.
I hadn’t tasted the Kurow Village wines before, and they delivered as Antonio suggested, the Rose 2010 tight, lean and steely, the ‘Reserve’ Chardonnay 2010 a combination of steel and mealy fruit with good oaking and growing richness, the Pinot Noir 2010 supple and sweet-fruited, and the ‘Reserve’ Pinot Noir darker fruited, denser and bolder.