Wines selected for internat'l Pinot Noir showcase

Media Release
14 November 2006

Wines selected for international Pinot Noir showcase

It was a tough job, but somebody had to do it.

Pinot Noir 2007 Chairman Steve Smith MW, along with Board members John Belsham and John Comerford, spent two days recently tasting more than 750 wines to select those for Pinot Noir 2007 delegates to imbibe.

Being held in Wellington from 29 January – 1 February 2007, Pinot Noir 2007 will see 500 of the world’s most influential wine and food industry players converge on Wellington to talk, debate, discuss, and most importantly taste Pinot Noir.

A hundred wineries are taking part and have submitted their wines for selection for the grand tastings and the social and culinary events.

Steve Smith says the wines put forward for selection were outstanding and 130 were chosen for the social and culinary events alone.

“We will be showcasing some of the best wines in the world, not just in New Zealand.”

John Belsham, John Comerford and Martinborough winemaker Larry McKenna also selected wines for the formal tastings at the event.

The wines selected for the Tasting of New Zealand 2003 Pinot Noirs are:

* 2003 Carrick Pinot Noir (Central Otago)
* 2003 Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir (Marlborough)
* 2003 Dog Point Vineyard Pinot Noir (Marlborough)
* 2003 Greenhough Hope Vineyard Pinot Noir (Nelson)
* 2003 Johner Estate Gladstone Pinot Noir (Wairarapa)
* 2003 Mountford Estate Pinot Noir (Waipara)
* 2003 Peregrine Pinot Noir (Central Otago)
* 2003 Villa Maria Taylors Pass Single Vineyard Pinot Noir (Marlborough)

The wines selected for the Great Pinot Noir Producers of New Zealand tasting are:

* Atarangi 2000, 2001 and 2003 Pinot Noir (Martinborough)
* Martinborough Vineyard 2000, 2001 and 2003 Pinot Noirs (Martinborough)
* Neudorf Moutere 2000 ,2002, and 2003 Pinot Noirs (Nelson)
* Felton Road Block 5 2001, 2002, and 2003 (Central Otago)
* Pegasus Bay Prima Donna 2001, 2003 and 2004 (Waipara)
* Quartz Reef Bendigo Estate Pinot Noir 2002, 2003, 2004 (Central Otago)
* Fromm Vineyard La Strada Pinot Noir 1996, 1997, 2001 (Marlborough)
* Dry River Wines 2001, 2003 and 2004 (Martinborough)

The New Zealand wines selected for the Great Pinot Noirs of the World tasting are:

* Escarpment Vineyard Kupe 2003 (Martinborough) and
* Mt Difficulty Target Gully 2003 (Central Otago)

They will join five top international Pinot Noirs for comparison.

Members of the public will also be able to sample some of the wines at a public tasting afternoon being held at the TSB Arena on 1 February.

Tickets are available through the website www.pinotnoir2007.co.nz

ENDS

© Scoop Media