The big, fat October issue of the British wine magazine Decanter plumped in my letterbox last week.
It was larger than usual because it contained all the results from the recent Decanter World Wine Awards (also available on www.decanter.com) and it made both interesting and slightly worrying reading.
Held in London and including more than 40,000 wines from some 40 wine regions around the world, it is one of the bigger international wine competitions and an important one for New Zealand exporters, who entered some 350 wines.
The wines from each country are tasted together in varietal and price groups by experts.
Gold, silver, bronze, commendations are awarded and if good enough, trophies for the best of each varietal and price group of that region.
The New Zealand trophies were: Sauvignon blanc under 10 - Spy Valley Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2007.
Sauvignon Blanc over 10 - Saint Clair Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2007.
Pinot noir over 10 - Wild Earth Central Otago Pinot Noir 2006 (which recently won the international trophy in the International Wine Competition, yet another major London wine show).
Red Bordeaux varietals over 10 - Villa Maria Gimblett Gravels Hawkes Bay Reserve Merlot 2005.
Red Rhone varietals over 10 - Craggy Range Gimblett Gravels Hawkes Bay Le Sol 2005.
Sweet wine over 10 - Seifried Estate Sweet Agnes Nelson Riesling 2007.
There was one gold medal for Bridge Pa Vineyards Hawkes Bay Louis Syrah 2005.
There were 50 silvers, 137 bronzes, 70 commendations and 86 no awards for the other New Zealand wines entered.
None of the New Zealand wines won the international trophies - in fact, worryingly because it is our major wine export, the best sauvignon blanc under 10 came from South Africa, and the best over 10 came from Tasmania.
The best pinot noir came from Germany.
Chairwoman of the New Zealand tasting panel, Rosemary George MW, said there was some lovely pinot noir, particularly in the 15-20 range, and the Bordeaux blends (merlot, cabernet) from Gimblett Gravels in Hawkes Bay had "plenty of interest and ageing potential".
She thought New Zealand chardonnays were over-oaked and not worth the bother, and felt that many of the sauvignon blancs were overcropped and dilute.
She recommended watching out for New Zealand rieslings, gewurztraminer, pinot gris, and syrah.
And perhaps just to rub it in, this issue of Decanter came with a supplement on Chile, which it claims is the "New World's most exciting wine country".
Things change - the next wine competition somewhere else in the world may well have completely different results.
