20 November 2009

Blue Gold for Akarua in Sydney

In the land of green and gold, Akarua vineyard, from Bannockburn, Central Otago, has struck Blue Gold at the prestigious Sydney International Wine Competition with their Akarua Gullies 2007 Pinot Noir. Estate grown, Akarua Gullies Pinot Noir is produced from vines planted on the original block of 50 hectares purchased by Sir Clifford Skeggs in 1996.

Of significance, the winemaking and viticultural team at Akarua is solely dedicated to the production of Akarua. They do not grow or make wine for any other labels in Central Otago ensuring that the entire quality focus of the team is always directed at growing and producing the very best that Akarua can be.

A single vineyard site the size of Akarua that is owned by a single family is also quite a rarity in the region. Additionally having a state of the art winery and cellar door actually at the vineyard is a luxury that winemaker / manager Matt Connell is only too aware of : “The win in Sydney is testament to the commitment that the Skeggs family has made to a vineyard site that only continues to improve with vine age. Taking that extra step to build a winery that can fulfill the sites potential and then allowing me to improve the building through technological investment all send strong signals regarding the direction we are taking Akarua” said Matt.

Viticulturalist, Gillian Wilson, who has been resident at Akarua for the past five years, advised that “A cooler spring had affected bunch weights and size of berries resulting in a lighter crop that ripened perfectly - with small intensely flavoured berries. The resulting 2007 wines have been dense and concentrated expressions of the Akarua vineyard site.”

Akaruas strong Pinot Noir track record began with the Akarua 2002 Pinot Noir winning Champion Wine of the Show at the 2003 Air New Zealand Wine Awards and top scoring Pinot Noir in Cuisine Magazine that same year. Earlier this year, the Akarua Cadence 2007 Pinot Noir was also awarded Gold at the San Francisco International Wine Challenge re-asserting the consistency and reliability of Akarua Pinot Noir.

Whilst Sir Clifford still keeps a close eye on his Akarua project, it is his son David Skeggs that now leads the business forward. David has been instrumental in a number of recent changes at Akarua, namely the investment Matt Connell has been able to make in the winery and a new focus on the packaging and brand visual imagery that will see an exciting change in direction from the 2009 vintage release onwards.

For more information on the wines or Akarua, please call Matt Connell +64 (0)3 445 0897, Jacqui Murphy +64 (0)27 668 6556 or jacqui@akarua.com