Each day began with the International Pinot Seminar during which attendees blind tasted their way through a flight of 8 2006 Pinots from France, Australia, America and NZ. After lunch the screwcaps were cracked and attendants were warmly invited to charge their Spiegelau Vino Grande Burgundy Glasses and savour the taste of New Zealand Pinot.

There were over 90 Pinots, representing all our wine growing regions. It was encouraging to see a solid turnout from Central Otago vineyards. We made some new friends from Grasshopper Rock and Domain Road as we shared tables and it was great to compare and contrast our wines.

We are also extremely pleased that the judges voted our Drumsara 2007 Pinot Noir Ventifacts Block as the Best of Central Otago! If you would like to order at discounted prices sign up to our wine vault wine club.

Read more about Passion for Pinot.

Liquorland Top 100

We are proud to announce that our 2007 Ventifacts Pinot Noir has received Gold in the Liquorland Top 100. Twenty one highly experienced judges from New Zealand, Australia and the UK evaluated 1,476 entries to determine the best one hundred wines available in New Zealand. We think that this is a great achievement and rewards all of the hard work on the vineyard and in the winery. This means that you should be able to find us in Liquorlands up and down the country. If you can’t see it, don’t worry just ask one of the friendly staff!

September 30 2008:The Central Otago boutique vineyard Drumsara has achieved the hat trick, winning gold medals for its 2007 Pinot Noir in three prestigious wine events, including the high profile 2008 UK International Wine and Spirit competition.

The two other gold medals were awarded at New Zealand international wine shows.

Drumsara founder John Matheson is delighted with the response to the 2007 vintage.

“This is obviously our best result yet and it is exciting to get recognition from not just one, but three different international events, which reinforces for us that we have produced something very special with the 2007 Pinot Noir. The awards will certainly raise awareness of Drumsara as an emerging boutique vineyard in both New Zealand and the UK.”

Drumsara is an eight hectare vineyard located high on a glacial outwash gravel plateau overlooking Alexandra and Clyde.

The Matheson family established the vineyard in 2000, planting the first grapes on a one hectare block. Drumsara’s first award came at the 2004 Bragato Wine Awards with a bronze medal for its 2003 Pinot Noir.

In 2006 Drumsara attracted its first international recognition when its 2004 Pinot Noir won a gold medal at the Starwine International Wine Competition in New York.

But Mr Matheson says the three 2008 gold medals are the high point and the culmination of dedication and commitment by everyone involved at Drumsara.

“We always hoped our wine would have this sort of success and we are very proud of the results.”

The gold winning 2007 Pinot Noir is produced from grapes from the vineyard’s Ventifacts Block.

“This block, which takes its name from the rock formation on the property formed thousands of years ago, produces our premium Pinot Noir fruit,” says Mr Matheson. “Our success is due to the hard yards put in by our viticulturalist, Lisa Whipp, and the rest of the team at Drumsara. The management of the vineyard is crucial in supplying the fruit, in the best condition possible, to the winemakers.”

Winemaker Dave Grant of William Hill Winery in Alexandra says the gold medals are a significant achievement for Drumsara.

“The owners and the viticulturalist are very particular and the fruit supplied to us is of consistently good quality and has an excellent concentration of flavours and colours. The nutrition of the grapes is good and during winemaking we use as little intervention as possible basically letting the fruit do the talking itself.”

He paid tribute to the talents of French winemakers on the team, Anthony Worch and Marion Vialade, who brought a high level of expertise to the winemaking process for the Drumsara vintage.

Mr Matheson says while the trio of gold medals is a milestone for the young Drumsara vineyard it is also important for the Alexandra, Clyde and Earnscleugh winegrowing region, underlining its role in Central Otago as a wine producing area.

“For a long time we have not been recognised, but with this success for Drumsara, and an increasing number of awards to other labels in our region, we are proving that we can produce top wines alongside other areas of Central Otago and New Zealand.”

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

WAYNE MATHESON

DRUMSARA WINES LTD

027 2247447

NZ International Wine Show

It is with great honour that we announce that our Central Otago Ventifacts Block 2007 Pinot Noir has received a gold medal at the New Zealand International Wine Show. This year 2273 wines were entered making it the largest wine competition ever held in this country and is one of the largest wine competitions in the Southern Hemisphere. The judging was chaired by Peter Cowley and Larry McKenna who presided over over 24 expert judges.

Sue Courtney, one of the judges and editor of www.wineoftheweek.com had these words to to say:

“… one of the most interesting Pinot Noirs that I tasted – Drumsara Central Otago Pinot Noir 2007 [came] from the Alexandra subregion. It is a rich and earthy yet fruity style with smoky bacon and field mushroom aromas, a wild thyme infusion, concentrated red and black fruits and a beautifully balanced savoury finish. Nice touch of oak too- you know the oak is there but this is a big wine and can handle it. Besides, three days after the bottle was opened, when we enjoyed it with our dinner, it was integrating nicely. Gosh I love the screwcaps for preserving partially consumed bottles. This is a great new find. There’s an informative website too – check out www.drumsara.com.”

Her webzine for wine and food lovers is well worth bookmarking. There is a vast collection of tasting notes, restaurant reviews, and personalities.

This is not the only award that our 2007 vintage has recieved … all will be revealed in good time.

Our Booth

In the latter part of last month I [Edward] jumped on a plane to Hong Kong to attend the HKTDC International Wine Fair. It was a three day event showcasing wines from around the world to buyers, collectors and enthusiasts from Hong Kong and Mainland China. We teamed up with Mark from Domain Jacquiry and Sean from Brennan Wines to present Central Otago Pinot Noir.

It was the first wine trade show we have attended and we learnt a lot about both trade shows and the Hong Kong and greater Asian wine market. Recently, exercise duties have been phased out in Hong Kong which makes it an attractive market for all wine producers, especially premium New Zealand wines. In effect it decreases the end price that consumers pay, decreasing their purchasing risk, thus increasing experimentation of New Zealand wines … so the theory goes.

Deeply embedded within the history and culture of Hong Kong is the art and business of trading. These roots in trading somewhat explain the almost ubiquitous presence of trading companies today. Some specialize in industries and markets while others cast their net far and wide. Through our conversations with buyers we came to agreement that those with lower levels of wine knowledge came from the latter group, general traders. Our mission in Hong Kong was to find an importer for the Asian region. We were looking for those with strong networks in the market and a proven track record. These buyers, which we associated with a high level of wine knowledge, were in the minority. However, given that this was the first time such a wine fair has been held in Hong Kong it was very encouraging. To be successful in such a competitive market, such as Aisa, the choice of buyer (importer) is a driving success factor. We will keep you posted on any developments.

Chinese Chicken

The food in Hong Kong was amazing. The diversity of cuisine was immense which can be expected in such a melting pot of cultures and nationalities. The acidity of our wines complement many of Hong Kong more oily dishes, especially their duck, pigeon and goose, which can be found hanging on most streets.

A friend and consultant to Drumsara is renowned chef Jason Dell. You will find below some Asian inspired food matches to our 2006 Pinot Noir and 2007 Pinot Gris. For more meal ideas browse through our wine and food matches here.

2006 Drumsara Pinot Noir – Ventifacts Block

• Soy marinade Salmon baked accompanied by ginger rice

2007 Drumsara Pinot Gris

• Char Sui and/or Hoison barbecued pork strips

• Scallops baked on the shell with orange, chilli, lime and ginger flavours

• Dukkah fried crumbed squid with lemon and olive aioli

• Crisp lettuce hearts pocketed with minced pork and spicy peanut dressing

It was great to meet other wine producers from around New Zealand and the collective atmosphere that the New Zealand participants displayed and is a something that characterizes and distinguishes us from other wine producing countries. Those New Zealanders with booths were Johnny from Twilight Vineyards, Paul from Te Motu Vineyard, Andrew from Coopers Creek, Mel from Mai Mai Creek, and Mark from Domaine Jacquiry. Hopefully see you guys there next year!

If you have not experienced Hong Kong I defiantly recommend it. The food is diverse and the shopping never ending! I imagine it would be a great stop over destination if travelling on to Europe or other parts of the world.

I would like to thank Polly and her team from the TZTE Hong Kong for their organisation, communication and expertise which enabled us to make the most of this opportunity. Also special thanks to Peter Bosevski from HKTDC Sydney for your help and advice before but especially during the fair … especially when flagging down taxis!