Inaugural Esvin Innovation in Wine Awards announced (2 Sep 08)

The Wine New Zealand trade show, held at the ASB Showgrounds in Auckland over the past few days, saw the announcement of the winners of the inaugural Esvin Innovation in Wine Awards. Trophies were presented for Innovation in Winemaking and Innovation in Wine Marketing. In the first category, the judges were looking for a winery that through the winemaking technique had created a wine that is unique within the marketplace, yet still maintained the quality that is expected of New Zealand Wine. The trophy was awarded to Wooing Tree Blondie produced by Wooing Tree Wines. The Judges commented “Luscious, stone fruit with strawberries with a very striking but unusual colour, this wine delivers something truly different without sacrificing quality. Interesting to have created a still wine from what is traditionally reserved for sparkling. If wine was to be described as a diamond then this would be it, just the colour alone gets your attention.”