Akarua Harvest off to a Flying Start with Trophy Win

Just as the 2011 grape harvest gets underway in Bannockburn Central Otago, Akarua’s winemaker Matt Connell has been celebrating another trophy win.

Akarua Pinot Noir 2009 has been awarded the Royal Easter Show Trophy for Champion Pinot Noir adding to the recent gold medals for Akarua Reserve Pinot Noir 2009 at the Air New Zealand Wine Awards and the New Zealand International Wine Show.

Matt Connell is thrilled with this latest Pinot Noir Trophy, especially as the 2009 vintage is Matt’s first at Akarua.

“It is pretty humbling that out of 21 gold medals to be awarded in the Pinot Noir category that Akarua Pinot Noir 2009 has picked up the overall Champion Pinot Noir Trophy. It is certainly a testament to a combined team effort in the vineyard and in the winery. I am also delighted to have a Highly Commended in the inaugural Heritage category as it demonstrates that consumers can have great confidence that Akarua wines will age and cellar well”.

Akarua Pinot Noir 2009 (RRP$34 - $39) typifies what Matt Connell, believes is the amalgamation of a wonderful vintage year, unique vineyard site, climate and soil. It has resulted in a wine with lovely fruit intensity, concentration and balance. Grapes were harvested from the Akarua Estate Vineyard in Bannockburn, where the handpicked fruit is cropped to only two kilograms per vine. In the winery each parcel of grapes is kept in separate cuvées in order to express the characteristics of each vineyard block. The wine then spends 10 months in 30% new French barriques. These components are later blended to make Akarua Pinot Noir and Akarua Reserve Pinot Noir – the two flagship Akarua wines.

The Akarua Pinot Noir style is soft and beguiling with ripe berry fruit flavours, velvety texture and a generous length. “With increasing vineyard maturity our Akarua wines are showing greater and greater complexity and completeness.”

Akarua is Central Otago’s largest family owned single vineyard winery and is committed to sustainability having attained New Zealand Winegrowers Sustainability accreditation for both the winery and vineyard. They are also the first winery in Central Otago to package their wines in lightweight glass.

www.akarua.com