‘Sense of timing’ key for appreciation of aged wine

Dingying Jiang from Kahiwi, the 2025 Tonnellerie de Mercurey Central Otago Young Winemaker of the Year. PHOTO: SUPPLIED

Hot on the heels of the Young Viticulturist competition comes the Otago leg of the Tonnellerie de Mercurey Young Winemaker competition which was held at Vinpro in Cromwell at the end of July.

The knowledge and skill sets of the six contestants were evident as each one of them secured top placing in at least one of the sections which included laboratory analysis, blending, wine knowledge, wine judging, market presentation, essay, professional reputation award and Vin Olympics leading in to the barbecue lunch put on by Fruitfed Supplies.

The final challenge was to give their Fruitfed Supplies Speech at the Awards Dinner.

Congratulations to Dingying Jiang from Kahiwi Wines who became the 2025 Tonnellerie de Mercurey Central Otago Young Winemaker of the Year.

Mention must also go to second and third-placegetters Paiqi Cao from Amisfield and Maia Wylie from Monte Christo. A big shout out to all the contestants who took part.

Along with the prizes, as local champion Dingying will go forward to represent Otago in the National Finals at Lincoln University in late August.

Thirty-eight-year-old Central Otago wine opened in London

Local industry pioneer Alan Brady was recently in London and took a bottle of Central history with him to share at a dinner with Janice Robinson MW, his UK importer Stephen Browett of Farr Vintners and others.

The 1987 Central Otago Late Harvest Rhine Riesling was vinted specially for International Cool Climate Symposium for Viticulture and Oenology held in Auckland in 1988, where Robinson was a speaker.

The wine was a collaboration made at Rippon Vineyard in Wanaka from grapes from four of the pioneer vineyards, Rippon, Gibbston Valley, Taramea (Speargrass Flat, Arrowtown) and Black Ridge (Alexandra).

Alan reported that "wine has a wonderful ability to evoke memories of events and places, and old wines need to be opened with a sense of timing.

"There wasn’t much of the wine made and this bottle, probably the last in the universe, has been sitting in my cellar waiting for the right moment.

"All agreed the wine was pretty good for its age considering winemaking at the time was fairly primitive. It was treated with all the deference and respect that a wine of that age is entitled to."