Renowned food and wine magazine ‘Dish’ has released the results of its inaugural Wine Panel tasting with two of Gibbston Valley Winery’s Pinot Noirs receiving accolades.

 The Gibbston Valley Central Otago Pinot Noir 2010 has continued on its winning streak, receiving five stars from the panel and ranking third in the Top 10 Pinot Noirs list.

Recently the wine was recognised with a Pure Elite Gold at the 2011 Air New Zealand Wine Awards and a Blue Gold at the Sydney International Wine Competition.

Gibbston Valley Winery winemaker Christopher Keys said he was “very happy” to see the winemaking team rewarded with the latest accolade.

“We focus very hard on this wine, from the details in the vineyard to the individual ferments of different blocks, to separate barrel aging and the ultimate process of blending.

“It’s a team effort, with many people involved in its making.  To see the judges note that it is crafted incredibly well, is recognition of the quality of their work,” he said.

Gibbston Valley Winery’s Gold River Pinot Noir 2011 was also recognised, receiving four stars from the Dish tasting panel.

Judges described the wine as ‘a very young wine oozing cherry and plum fruit’ and said it had great potential if the buyer was disciplined enough to put some away in the cellar.

“We love this wine as it shows the dimensions of Central Otago fruit,” said Mr Keys.

“This price point is a hotly-contested one for all Pinot Noir producers, not just from Central Otago.  We’re really keen to impress at this price because we want to drink it too!

“Whilst being enjoyable to drink, it’s also a serious wine, and is testimony again to quality work in the vineyard and winery.”

Dish magazine’s inaugural Wine Panel tasting brought six judges to blind taste 182 Pinot Noirs from around New Zealand.  Of those, 54 received a rating of 4 stars or more.

Mr Keys said the recognition from Dish magazine was yet another reason for the Gibbston Valley Winery team to feel pleased, after a dream run of summer and autumn weather has them predicting an outstanding 2012 vintage.

“We’re very happy with 2012’s quality, smaller bunches have given welcome intensity, and flavours are excellent,” said Mr Keys.

This year Gibbston Valley Winery is celebrating its 25^th anniversary as the first commercial harvest of grapes in New Zealand’s Central Otago after picking 300 tonnes of intensely flavoured fruit.

Over the years, Gibbston Valley Winery has won more than 300 national and international awards, helping put the Central Otago wine region on the map.

Gibbston Valley Winery is home to a stunning winery restaurant, a cellar door wine tasting facility, New Zealand’s largest and innovative wine cave, available for wine tours, private functions, weddings and special occasions, the new Barrel Room for C&I functions and weddings, and a retail outlet.

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Another world-class Kiwi chef is heading home to bring his flavour to the hugely successful Tasting Lounge pop-up restaurant by Mondo Travel.

New Zealand-born chef Matt Egan will showcase the influences of his adopted home in the Margaret River region of Western Australia – particularly the tastes and flavours of Cullen restaurant where he is head chef – at the fourth Mondo Travel Tasting Lounge, taking place on May 28 (Marvell Grill, Auckland).

Egan will join Cullen winemaker Trevor Kent and Tasting Lounge executive chef Brett McGregor in creating a spectacular three-course meal, with matched wines from Cullen Wines.

Egan, who has been head chef at the Cullen restaurant since 2005, trained at Waikato Polytechnic in 1992 and went on to work in various London restaurants before moving to Western Australia. He is well-known in Margaret River for his use of local produce – including that grown in the winery’s large kitchen garden.

He says he is honoured to be bringing a piece of Margaret River home to New Zealand. “Margaret River is like any New Zealand provincial town or city, with great small artisan and local producers.
”It’s a privilege to represent Cullen Wines and its commitment to biodynamics and sustainability. Our aim in the restaurant is to search for the best quality expression of our garden and fresh local produce in our food. We take a holistic approach to our menu with a light, healthy and simple style that allows the produce to speak for itself.”

Cullen Wines is a certified biodynamic, carbon neutral label and the wines are made on a naturally powered estate where grapes are harvested by hand.  Winemaker Trevor Kent, in his 17^th vintage for the winery, says: “Our philosophy is to search for the best quality expression of the vineyard in the wine.
“The maritime climate, rocky soils, dry farming and biodynamic practices all help to create individual and diverse wine styles which are unique to Cullen. We’re very much looking forward to sharing some of the Margaret River terroir and personality with New Zealand.”

The Tasting Lounge by Mondo Travel has been running since February at the Marvel Grill, in Auckland’s newest dining precinct the Wynyard Quarter, on the last Monday of every month. Each month celebrates the best cuisine from a different destination or travel experience with matched wines, and is MC’d by iconic Kiwi entertainer Jackie Clarke.

Previous Tasting Lounges have showcased  New South Wales, Tahiti and Thailand, and Mondo Travel marketing manager Gordon Bayne says the May event is likely to be another triumph. “The food and wines of Margaret River are something truly special. This will be a fantastic opportunity for Kiwis to sample the ultimate in what Western Australia has to offer.”

As well as incredible food and wine the Australian state is famed for its stunning scenery, wildlife and world class surf breaks.

Bayne is thrilled to have Tourism Western Australia and Air New Zealand on board as key partners for the Western Australia Tasting Lounge.

Mondo Travel’s other key Tasting Lounge partners include Marvel Grill, Easy Mix, NZ Herald Online, MSN, Accor Hotel Group and Grab One.

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Additional information: Tickets for the dinner are $99 per person including the three-course meal by Brett McGregor and Matt Egan with matched Cullen Wines. Funds raised from the pop-up restaurant will go to the Mobility Assistance Dogs Trust, which trains mobility dogs to assist those with physical disabilities. For more information on The Tasting Lounge, menus, and purchasing tickets visit www.mondotravel.co.nz/tastinglounge.

To enter into the draw to win a double pass to the Mondo Tasting Lounge Dinner on May 28th email [email protected]z with Mondo in the subject line.
Competition closes 5pm Saturday May 27th.