Aromatic wines are white grape varietals with distinctive fragrant, floral aroma, such as Pinot Gris and Riesling. Scenic Cellars has seen growth in Aromatic Wine sales over the past few years, as New Zealanders become more daring with the wines they are drinking.
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Last month, we judged a line up of two hundred and seventeen aromatic wines, to discover the best wines for our February 2010 promotions. From all around the world, the field of wines this year consisted of 78 Rieslings, 73 Pinot Gris, 28 Gewurztraminer, 17 Viognier and 21 other aromatic varietal, including Gruner Veltliner, Sauvignon Gris and Arneis. |
Judges for this annual tasting included Ian Isaacs (Executive Director), Floris Heijdenrijk (Sales Manager), with guest judge - Andrew Martin (Winemaker, Martin Watt Wines).
Andrew was very happy to be involved with this year's judging. "It's a pleasure to have the opportunity to be exposed to such a broad range of aromatic wines from around the world. I was impressed with the variety and styles of Rieslings, with adventurous winemakers trying new ideas. I also enjoyed the wide range of Gewurztraminer styles."
After two days of blind tasting, the consensus between the judges was that the wines submitted showed good quality of wine making, however, the great wines definitely stood out.
The disappointment for Ian was that "Pinot Gris continues to underwhelm, with many examples lacking any sort of flavour. Viognier samples were all over the place in terms of style, but the good examples are really very good. All in all, there are some stunning world class aromatic wines being produced in New Zealand."
Floris agreed that the "good wines really do stand out, but there were lots of average examples. However, there weren't many 'bad' wines, or many with faults."
Ian believes that the top nine wines chosen are excellent examples of their varietals. They include ;
These wines are on promotion in store during February 2010. We hope you enjoy them.
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