Wine distributor Eurowine put its wares on display last week at a roadshow staged at Dunedin's Mercure Hotel.
There were many more wines than could be tasted in a couple of hours while staying sober, but there was plenty to recommend.
The Stonecroft Old Vine Gewurztraminer (about $43) was floral, charming, lush and stylish.
Alan Limmer has been growing gewurztraminer and syrah in Hawkes Bay longer than most New Zealand winemakers.
His Serine Syrah 2005 (about $25) is good value for a Hawkes Bay syrah - fragrant with a hint of pepper but also rich and velvety.
Te Mata Woodthorpe Sauvignon Blanc 2008 (about $20) is wonderfully aromatic with a hint of mineral and full in the mouth.
Clive Paton, founder of Ata Rangi in Martinborough, was showing his impeccable wines.
Particularly impressive was the Ata Rangi Sauvignon Blanc 2008 (about $25), with lovely aromas and rich, lush and full in the mouth.
Ata Rangi Pinot Noir 2007 (about $70, to be released next month) is one of New Zealand's finest, and Celebre 2006 (about $34), a blend of cabernet and a tiny proportion of a mysterious grape once thought to be syrah but probably a hybrid, is deliciously rich.
Hatch Kalbera from Fromm, the meticulous Marlborough winemaker, was showing his rieslings and single vineyard pinots.
Fromm Riesling Spatlese 2007 was rich and sweet but with a crisp, clean finish and low alcohol.
Muddy Water from Waipara is another fine riesling specialist and its new Growers' Series Lough Riesling 2008 (about $22) was fragrant, limey and crisp with sweet fruit and tight acidity.
There were also some new labels I hadn't come across before, notably Man O' War.
Man O' War, on the fashionable Waiheke Island, has 106 different vineyard plots.
Its wines are rich and ripe - there's no problem ripening grapes on the island, it's more a matter of cooling them, sales manager Peter McDonald says. The reds in particular are ripe, inky and concentrated.
The Man O'War Syrah 2007 (about $26) is a different beast from most peppery Hawkes Bay syrahs, generous and soft but well structured.
The Cabernet Franc Merlot 2007 (about $25) is dark and smoky with oodles of cherry and strawberry fruit.
