This
is
one of the best wine ideas I’ve heard for some time. 50.97 tonnes of
beautiful Waipara Riesling grapes from Mud House’s Glasnevin Rd block
were distributed
amongst twelve passionate New Zealand Riesling wine-makers and they were
challenged
to make the best wine they could, regardless of style. The wines where
then
packed in cases of twelve, one bottle from each wine maker. The
wine-makers
were: Ant McKenzie, Te Awa Wines; Larry McKenna, Escarpment; Mike Brown,
Golden
Hills Estates; Paul Bourgeois, Spy Valley; Jules Taylor, Jules Taylor
Wines; John Forrest, Forrest Estate; Simon Waghorn, Astrolabe
Wines; Patrick Materman, Pernod
Ricard NZ; Simon McGeorge, Waipara Hills; Matt
Donaldson, Pegasus Bay; Duncan
Forsyth, Mount Edward and Matt Dicey, Mount Difficulty. All
the participating winemakers – both young and old - have won awards and
plaudits for their carefully crafted Rieslings.
In
mid December the wines were judged by Bob Campbell MW and the winemakers
involved and a winner announced. (Congrats to Matt
Donaldson from Pegasus
Bay)
This
is a fantastic way to see the winemaker’s influence on the finished wine while
also enjoying a dozen delicious Rieslings from some of New Zealand’s
top winemakers.