NZ wine goes head-to-head with Australia and England

New Zealand wine goes head-to-head with Australia and England to celebrate the Cricket World Cup

The cricket pitch is not the only place New Zealand will be competing with the two sporting behemoths, Australia and England, during the upcoming Cricket World Cup. New Zealand wine is battling it out with Australian and English wine in a series of cricket-themed blind tastings this month to celebrate the start of the competition.

To kick-off the celebrations, New Zealand sparkling wine will compete with English sparkling wine in the “Battle of the Bubbles” on 19 February in Wellington. 12 wines from each country will be tasted blind by two teams, each headed by one Wine Captain. Jane Skilton MW will captain New Zealand with moral support from cricketing legend Stephen Fleming. Wine super-star Oz Clarke will lead the English team.

Just six days later on 26 February, New Zealand will face Australia in the “Trans-Tasman Wine Challenge” in Auckland. Again, a line-up of wines from each nation will be tasted blind by two teams. Wine Captain Bob Campbell MW will be leading New Zealand into battle, with Nick Stock flying the flag for Australia.

The cricket-related ‘friendly’ taste-off between the nations will showcase the diversity of New Zealand wine, said Chris Yorke, Global Marketing Director at New Zealand Winegrowers. “New Zealand produces a wide range of world-class wines, and the Cricket World Cup provides a fantastic backdrop for us to tell this story. All three nations are known for their sporting rivalry, and there’s nothing like a bit of healthy competition!”.

The results of both tastings will be announced at media events later in the day.

The events are a joint initiative between New Zealand Winegrowers, Tourism New Zealand, New Zealand Trade & Enterprise, and Auckland Tourism Events and Economic Development (ATEED).

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