The Southland Times, June 2010

At the International Chardonnay Challenge in Gisborne last week the Australians waltz[ed] off with the wine of show and runner-up awards …and collected 14 of the 18 gold medals.

So what were the judges looking for? Good chardonnay…in simple terms, a wine with elegance, finesse, flavour and length – higher natural acidity, less alcohol, less overt fruit flavours more minerality and a defter touch of nougat, nuts, whatever you want to call it. New Zealand wine – Waimata Wines 2009 Cognoscenti [was awarded] a gold medal, read more…