Honeymooners pay record price for NZ wine
24 Apr 2009
A British couple from Hong Kong, on honeymoon in New Zealand have paid what is believed to be a record price for a bottle of the country’s fine wine - shelling out NZ$1000 for a Gibbston Valley Wines 2000 Pinot Noir.
The rare Central Otago wine captured the couple’s interest when they were dinning at Gantleys Restaurant at Arthur’s Point, near the popular South Island tourist resort of Queenstown.
The Gibbston Valley pinot noir won gold at the 2001 London International Wine Challenge.
With only four or five bottles of the treasured drop remaining at Gantleys, the restaurant’s co-owner Brent Rands said it came highly recommended.
Rare prices
The wine made headlines in 2003 when two bottles sold for NZ$500 each, also at Gantleys. In 2008 Rands sold a further bottle for $750, then decided in January 2009 to increase the price due to the fact that it was becoming so scarce.
The happy couple who purchased the wine said they had "extremely enjoyed it".
But Rands said they clearly had other things on their mind, good wine or not, because they generously left half a glass for the staff to savour when they left.
Gibbston Valley coup
Gibbston Valley Wines managing director Mike Stone said yesterday the wine's latest feat "felt pretty good".
"To the best of my knowledge it's the first (750ml) bottle by a New Zealand producer that's ever sold for $1000."
"We've got just 10 bottles left at the winery if someone really pushes us we'll give it to them for $450 - we've sold three for that in the last month," Stone said.
He said it was standard for restaurants to sell for double the cellar door price (plus GST). For a wine that sold at the cellar door for just $65 eight years ago, Stone said it was not a bad investment.
NZ wine success
Gibbston Valley Wines former winemaker Grant Taylor, who made the world champion vintage, said that while top wines sold for more than that on the international stage, the record sale demonstrated just how far New Zealand wines had come.
He said he was now working towards selling a bottle of his own Valli Wines label, which he left Gibbston Valley Wines to pursue in 2006, at the same price.
Central Otago wines
Surrounded by stunning alpine landscape, Central Otago is famed for hot dry summers and frosty cold winters, providing favourable yet challenging conditions for winegrowing. It is regarded as one of New Zealand’s premium winegrowing regions.
Gibbston Valley Wines is a 25-minute drive from Queenstown en route to the historic gold mining town of Arrowtown, and is also not far from AJ Hacket’s bungy jump at the historic Kawarau Bridge.
Established in 1987, Gibbston was the first commercial wine producer in the Central Otago region and has earned an international reputation for pinot noir and other grape varieties such as chardonnay, pinot gris, riesling and pinot blanc.
The winery has won 220 wine awards, nationally and internationally in the past 10 years.
Tours of the Gibbston Valley vineyard and winery include wine tasting in New Zealand's largest underground wine cave. The winery restaurant has also earned a reputation for fine foods featuring local produce including venison, lamb and salmon.
More information:
New Zealand wine industry
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