International Success Continues for Babich Wines

9th May 2005

MEDIA RELEASE

INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS CONTINUES FOR BABICH WINES

The prestigious American wine magazine ‘Wine Spectator’ (May 15th Issue, 2005) features the Babich Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2004 in the top 5 Best Value Global White Wines.

The feature article of the issue is ‘Beyond Cabernet and Chardonnay – 100 Values from Around the Globe for $US15 or Less’ by Kim Marcus. The article is described as “a road map to your discovery of the diversity of the wine world.”

Over the past 6 months, Wine Spectator editors have rated more than 6,500 wines. From this large pool, they have honed the list down to the best 100 Values for $US15 or less, with equal representation between white and red wines. Chardonnay and Cabernet were excluded from this list along with sparkling and dessert-style bottlings. The wines chosen are all recent releases and should be available on retail shelves in the USA.

In the short list of 50 best value whites the Babich Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2005 was listed 5th with an 89 Point rating. A bottle shot as well as a vineyard shot (Babich’s picturesque Wakefield Downs vineyard) accompanied the following review:

“Another delicious and widely available Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Babich draws on almost 300 acres of its own vineyards in the region to make this crisp white. Distinctively citrusy and herbal, this ’04 shows lime, grapefruit and mineral character, which adds depth to the focused flavours.”

International success for Babich is not just limited to the USA. After 7 successful years in Hong Kong where Babich sell 1 in 6 bottles of NZ wines sold, distribution has now started in Mainland China. An exciting new listing sees two Babich wines being served at 50 (soon to be 80) Intercontinental Hotels in the Peoples Republic of China. Marketing and Sales Manager, Martin Tutty, says that with the economy booming, China's demand for wine has skyrocketed. The country’s imports of bottled wine soared to more than 7 million litres last year from 2 million litres in 2000.

ENDS

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