All Conquering Sparkling
Not one award, but five!! Deutz Cuvee Blanc de Blanc 2006 continues to fill the cabinet with trophies. To date it has won gold medal status at the Air New Zealand Wine Awards, Liquorland Top 100, Tri-Nations Wine Challenge and Sydney International Wine Competition 2010. Now it has the trophy for champion sparkling wine at the Royal Easter Show Wine Awards. Deutz is produced by Montana in a joint venture with the House of Deutz in Champagne. This wine differs from many sparklings in that it is made solely from chardonnay grapes, and is single vintage rather than a blend of grapes from different vintages. click for more

Te Awa Syrah Rates Well
Te Awa Hawkes Bay Syrah has scored big time in Wine Spectator the foremost wine magazine in the US with its. This wine has just been given a 93 point rating. According to Ant Mackenzie, the general manager of Te Awa, only four other New Zealand wines have scored higher in 25 years and none was from Hawke Bay. David Strada, the US marketing manager for New Zealand Winegrowers, said the Wine Spectator's score was just further confirmation that New Zealand and Hawke's Bay can produce first-rate syrah. The Lawson family established Ta Awa in 1992, and in 2002 it was purchased by the American financier, Julian Robertson, who also owns Dry River and the Kauri Cliffs and Cape Kidnappers golf courses and luxury lodges. click for more

You Never Know Where NZ Wine Will Turn Up
Decanter, the British wine magazine reports that a food and wine matching category at a recent Cathay Pacific competition in Hong Kong threw up some unconventional pairings for Chinese food. Among the winners was the Wairau River Pinot Gris 2009.It was awarded the trophy for the best match with Cantonese dim sum by the panel of Asian-born and Asian-based judges. The wine beat off competition from more conventional pairings such as Champagne. 'It demonstrates that a pure, fruit-driven un-oaked white is perfectly versatile with different dishes on dim sum trolley' said one of the judges, Simon Tam. The bad news for Growbiz customers is that this highly rated Pinot Gris has already sold out, although the winery can supply an earlier vintage. click for more

Aprils Winning Wine Deutz Cuvee Blanc de Blanc 2006
Of course it has to be! After the success of this wine, it is hard not to make it our April selection. If you look back through Michael Coopers Buyers Guide, Michael consistently rates this a 5 star wine. His description of 2006 sums it up: “very refined and finely balanced with intense citrusy, yeasty flavours - crisp and lingering”. This one is well priced in our Portfolio – we only hope with all the success that this vintage will not now become in short supply. Enjoy the wines. click for more