Seventeen judges are about to immerse themselves in Marlborough wine as the Marlborough Wine Show, sponsored by QuayConnect, kicks off today. Judges will be kept busy as the entries in most categories are well above previous years.
“There is a huge emphasis on sub-regional Marlborough in this show, as we believe it is vitally important to showcase the sub-regions and the differences they impart on the wines. People are wanting to draw a line in the sand about where their wine comes from,” said Ben Glover, Chief Judge.
The majority of judges are local, but two key names are James Milton from Gisborne, who is known as the father of biodynamics in New Zealand, and Australian Master of Wine Annette Lacey.
“Annette has an important understanding of her marketplace and given Australia is our closest and one of our largest markets, that’s important for our wine industry. I’m excited to judge with her and James.”
Entries this year are up across the board, sitting at over 550 wines. But the Coterie Provenance category saw a big jump from 45 entries last year to 122 this year. The Marlborough Museum legacy award has also seen substantial growth in entry numbers over time for a wine producer who has the highest scores for three vintages of the same variety over a 10-year period.
Medal winners will be announced on October 7, with trophies announced at a Celebration Lunch at the end of October.
“People are wanting to see more from Sauvignon Blanc and they are wanting to see more Marlborough varieties. Pre Covid it was all Sauvignon Blanc. Now there is real interest in other varieties. But, it’s still hard out there and that is why it’s important to be able to deliver a clear and concise picture of all that is happening in the Marlborough wine world through something as detailed as the Marlborough Wine Show,” said Glover.
