Martinborough Winery Harvest Estate Partners with NZ Art Show

Harvest Estate, the boutique Martinborough winery, today announced that it has entered into a multi-year partnership with the NZ Art Show. As a platinum sponsor and exclusive wine provider of the show, Harvest Estate’s wines will be served at the Show’s Gala Evening attended by some 1,200 people on Thursday, 18 June prior to the three day Show opening the following day.

NZ Art Show Executive Director, Carla Russell said, “We are delighted to have a new platinum partner in Harvest Estate who are as passionate about art as they are about the wines they craft. This will ensure that the Show’s exhibiting artists, sponsors and Friends enjoy some of the best Martinborough wines at the Gala event, ensuring they are spoilt for choice on all fronts.”

Harvest Estate wines will also be provided as prizes to those attending the Show and voting for the artwork they believe is most deserving of winning the Show’s premier art award, the NZ Art Show’s $3,000 Signature Piece Art Award.

Harvest Estate’s Managing Director and Winemaker Michael Gregg said, “Harvest Estate is honoured to be part of the NZ Art Show, after searching for a flagship partnership to profile its wines in Wellington.

“Wellington has long adopted Martinborough as its weekend wine destination and we saw this as a chance for us at Harvest Estate to acknowledge that loyalty. As emerging artisans in our own right, we are delighted to support the many fine artists who will be present this year and to showcase our own handcrafted creations.”

Carla Russell said, “Wine and art are a natural pairing and Harvest Estate’s hand crafted approach to winemaking makes it an ideal partner with the NZ Art Show. Our focus is on quality original New Zealand art and they have embarked on a journey to produce the ultimate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines from Martinborough.”

Everything the Harvest Estate team undertakes is focused on an unyielding philosophy of achieving full fruit ripeness. They follow traditional vineyard processes including pruning, thinning and harvesting all by hand, using irrigation sparingly to ensure the vines build resilience. Leaf plucking across all varietals together with aggressive crop thinning produces low and clean crop yields. With the majority of their vines aged between 17 and 25 years old, the resultant wines are structured, complex and designed to age.

Michael Gregg reports that the team is presently in the midst of the 2015 Vintage with picking well advanced – all Pinot Noir and Chardonnay safely in the winery and a selection of aromatic varietals still to be harvested. This year around 22 tonnes of grapes will be manually harvested, less than a tonne an acre, ensuring very low yields that drive intensity of flavour. The 2014 vintage has only recently been racked from barrels in preparation for bottling, aside from their Syrah which will undergo a second year in oak.

In addition to their existing range, Harvest Estate is creating some experimental blends in 2015, featuring an oaked Sauvignon Blanc blend, whisperings of a golden aromatic blend and an orange wine due for release later this year.

The 2015 NZ Art Show takes place from June 19-21 in the Events Centre, Queens Wharf on the Wellington waterfront, with the Show’s opening Gala Evening being held on Thursday, 18 June.

“We are honoured to have Harvest Estate choose to form an association with the NZ Art Show and the multi-year partnership ensures that the association will be ongoing and develop overtime,” Carla Russell said.

ENDS

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