Pinot Noir Wins 2009 Air New Zealand Wine Awards

Waipara Hills Pinot Noir Wins Open Red Wine Trophy at the 2009 Air New Zealand Wine Awards

The winemaking team at Waipara Hills continues to build on its reputation for producing high-quality, boutique, award-winning wines that are accessible to all consumers, this weekend winning the Open Red Wine Trophy at the 2009 Air New Zealand Wine Awards.

The winning wine is the 2008 Waipara Hills Southern Cross Selection Central Otago Pinot Noir. For the second year running, Pinot Noir was the varietal awarded the most gold medals, this year receiving 19 of a total of 102 gold medals awarded across 14 varietals.

Waipara Hills winemaker Simon McGeorge said that the retail price of $36.90 meant that the wine stood out for its accessibility as well as its quality. “Most Pinot Noirs of this quality are in the $60 to $70 range, so we are doubly pleased to be producing a wine that is selected as the best while also being within reach of so many consumers.” The Open category is for wines with a minimum production of 2,500 cases or 22,500 litres.

The fruit for the wine came from the Waipara Hills company vineyard in the Bendigo region of Central Otago. With grapes from the same vineyard taking the Champion Pinot Noir Trophy at the 2007 Air New Zealand Wine Awards, along with other gold medals, Mr McGeorge said the vineyard is building a pedigree.

Mr McGeorge said the wine’s appeal to the judges lay in its complexity: “It brings in the brambly, juicy fruit of the previous year’s wine, along with the extra elements of increased structure from a cooler year and improved oak treatment. It’s so young now, and as it opens up with age the fruit will show the class that it has.”

The competition’s chair of judges Steve Smith (MW) said the real highlights of this year’s competition were the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay classes, which he described as “truly spectacular . . . The quality of a country’s red wine is always a symbol of a country’s place in the world of wine, and the results in the red wine classes this year demonstrate the enormous potential of New Zealand’s red wine varietals.”

The Waipara Hills brand, which includes the Soul of the South and Equinox labels in addition to the Southern Cross Selection, has won more than 300 awards since its first vintage in 2001.

The Pinot Noir was already a noted wine, with the 2007 Waipara Hills Southern Cross Selection Central Otago Pinot Noir receiving 5 stars from Cuisine magazine and 4.5 stars (93/100) in the Penguin Wine Guide 2009.

Continuing on an award-winning streak, Waipara Hills has also just received two sought-after Blue-Gold awards at the 2010 Sydney International Wine Competition, for the 2009 Waipara Hills Soul of the South Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and the 2008 Waipara Hills Soul of the South Waipara Pinot Gris.

New Zealand's Waipara Hills appoints Define Wine

Media release – January 2009

New Zealand’s Waipara Hills appoints Define Wine

Define Wine, one of Australia’s few specialist wine marketing and communications businesses, has recently been appointed by leading New Zealand winery, Waipara Hills to manage its public relations in Australia.

Waipara Hills is a premium New Zealand winery with broad distribution across Australia and the timing couldn’t be better to begin a campaign that will build consumer and media awareness via a targeted public relations plan.

“We have invested heavily in order to build distribution throughout Australia. This is a key market for us and we wanted a wine specialist with hands on experience to help take the brands to the next level by driving awareness and communicating our premium brand positions,” explained Waipara Hills Marketing Manager Sasha d’Entremont. “Define Wine is a like minded business which we feel will complement and add value to our strategy.”

“The people behind Waipara HIlls are a savvy and professional group, with a range of experience in the industry,” commented David Cumming from Define Wine. “The team, including Sasha d’Entremont, Sales Director Sam Lynds, Winemaker Simon McGeorge and CEO, Baden Ngan-Kee have created some special wines, and are committed to supporting them within the market. It’s certainly an exciting time for the brand.”

Waipara Hills wines are distributed throughout Australia by a group of premium and focussed distributors.  Waipara Hills includes the ‘Equinox’, ‘Southern Cross’ and ‘Soul of the South’ ranges and are distributed by Combined Wines & Food in NSW, JHL Wines in Victoria and Smashing Bottles in Western Australian & Queensland.  See www.waiparahills.co.nz

For further information please contact:

David Cumming at Define Wine: 0414 736 342 or david@definewine.com.au

Sasha d’Entremont at Waipara Hills:        +64 21 933 215 or sasha.dentremont@waiparahills.co.nz

Define Wine was established in 2005 by wine industry professional, David Cumming. The business is an innovative marketing and communications business founded on experience including marketing and sales within small, medium and large wineries. With this practical industry experience, Define Wine offers its partners pragmatic, commercial and result driven marketing expertise.

Waipara Hills is owned by The MH Wine Group, one of New Zealand’s leading winemakers, with substantial vineyard holdings and state of the art wineries in Marlborough, Waipara and Central Otago. The Mud House Wines portfolio of wines has received wide acclaim under the careful guidance of winemaker Simon McGeorge.

Waipara Hills Reaps Awards

Waipara Hills Reaps Awards

The winemaking team at Waipara Hills is doing anything but resting on its laurels, despite the brand having picked up more than 300 awards since its first vintage in 2001. Waipara Hills includes the Soul of the South, Southern Cross Selection and Equinox labels, which reflect the wines’ grounding in the intense, complex climate of the South Island.

In 2008 the stand-out honours for Waipara Hills included a sought-after Blue-Gold at the Sydney International Wine Competition (for the flagship 2007 Waipara Hills Equinox Waipara Pinot Gris); a Gold and Best in Class at the International Wine and Spirit Competition – UK (for the reserve-tier 2007 Waipara Hill Southern Cross Selection Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc); and further awards at the Royal Easter Show Wine Awards, the New Zealand International Wine Competition, and the AWC Vienna International Wine Challenge, among others.

The wines are also receiving commendations in leading wine publications: the March 2009 issue of Cuisine magazine awarded the 2008 Waipara Hills Southern Cross selection Pinot Gris 5 stars and named it among the top 5 in its class; and the 2007 Waipara Hills Southern Cross Selection Central Otago Pinot Noir was a fellow 5 star recipient from Cuisine and was also awarded 4.5 stars (93/100) in the Penguin Wine Guide 2009.

Winemaker Simon McGeorge, a native of the Canterbury region, says his crafting of Waipara Hills’ award-winning wines is based on his knowledge of the varied nature of the climate in which the grapes are produced. “The South Island of New Zealand is a unique place known for its rugged beauty and wild weather, and our team enjoys the challenge of creating wines which capture the dramatic, special and at times unpredictable nature of this environment. I believe this is one of the reasons why our wines are stacking up so well against global competitors.”

CEO Baden Ngan Kee said the spate of awards reflected the broad appeal of Waipara Hills’ wines. “We also employ the strategy of sourcing grapes from a number of different wine-producing regions in the South Island, which is home to many fine vineyards. Clearly our success validates that strategy, which along the hard work and skill of the Waipara Hills team is producing wines with the strength and complexity to win awards.

“We have taken some important steps in the past year to develop our brand locally and internationally, and we are pleased that the quality of our wines is being recognized so widely.

“We will continue to work to create even better wines, and we hope to enjoy further awards success with our 2009 production.”

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For more information:

About Waipara Hills

The award-winning Waipara Hills range of wines is crafted from a variety of vineyards in the South Island of New Zealand, but most of the wines are sourced from the company’s Waipara Valley vineyards – the home of Waipara Hills. The range from Waipara Hills is comprised of the Soul of the South, Southern Cross Selection and Equinox labels. Since the first vintage in 2001, Waipara Hills wines have received more than 300 local and international wine awards; in 2008, these included a Blue-Gold at the Sydney International Wine Competition (for the 2007 Waipara Hills Equinox Waipara Pinot Gris), and a Gold and Best in Class at the International Wine and Spirit Competition – UK (the 2007 Waipara Hill Southern Cross Selection Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc).

Waipara Hills wines are distributed by Hancocks Wine & Spirit Merchants (09 361 8480) in the New Zealand market.

Waipara Hills is owned by The MH Wine Group, which incorporates four wine brands: Mud House Wines, Waipara Hills, Dusky Sounds and Canterbury House. The MH Wine Group owns wineries in Marlborough & Waipara Valley and vineyards in Marlborough, Waipara and Central Otago, as well as contracting vineyards in a variety of premium New Zealand wine growing regions.