5/11/2010 12:00:00 a.m.
NEWS
Press Release dated 5 November 2010
Aussie Horror as Shiraz/Syrah Trophy
in Hong Kong Goes to NZ
There was consternation at the Awards Dinner in Hong Kong last night as the winners were announced for the Trophies in each category at Asia’s most important wine fair. With the major players from all the heavyweight wine producing countries of the world waiting for the name of the winner in the most keenly anticipated red wine category, the expectation among the French, Spanish, Italian, South African and American winemakers was that Shiraz/Syrah was a category on which the Australians held a mortgage. That was the Australian expectation also.
So the shock in the room when it was revealed that the Trophy for the best Shiraz/Syrah at the 2010 Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Wine and Spirit Competition was from New Zealand is still reverberating through the Hong Kong Wine Fair. The Hay Paddock, Waiheke Island’s specialist producer of Syrah, took the Trophy and a Gold Medal for its 2006 vintage of the same name.
Brett Taylor of Destiny Bay Vineyard, who accepted the Trophy on behalf of The Hay Paddock Winemaker, Chris Canning, described the atmosphere as electric. “The Aussies have been confidently dominating the market with their Shiraz for some time, second only to the top French reds in price and popularity in the Asian market. The interest that this win for New Zealand has created cannot be underestimated.”
For The Hay Paddock this triumph comes just 3 weeks after another of the company’s wines won New Zealand’s only Gold Medal for Syrah, and Best in Class, at the 2010 International Wine & Spirit Competition, London.
Co-Proprietor and Winemaker, Chris Canning, said that the win was a signal endorsement of the decision he and his partner, Bryan Mogridge, had made to specialise in Syrah as the variety that could provide them with a world class red wine. That their first two vintages had achieved such accolades was testament to both the variety and the extraordinary site they had found for it on Waiheke Island.
“No-one can ever reproduce the site specific qualities imparted by soil. The minerality of our soil is what shapes the style and development of our wines,” says Canning, “and we have been fortunate with climate as well. There are better wines still in the barrel, so hopefully there is more success to come.”
There was further encouraging news in Hong Kong for those concerned that New Zealand would always be identified with Sauvignon Blanc and its diminishing returns: Pinot Gris from New Zealand performed outstandingly. And the Trophy for the best Sauvignon Blanc? That went to Australia.
Released by:
The Hay Paddock Limited
Onetangi Valley, PO Box 267, Waiheke Island 1843, New Zealand
TEL: +64 (09) 372 9539
enquiries@thehaypaddock.co.nz
www.thehaypaddock.co.nz
Chris Canning, Winemaker
MOB: +64 (0) 274 968783
ccanning@xtra.co.nz