Master sommeliers, wine writers, and critics from Canada, Britain, and the United States were in Central Otago yesterday sampling the district's best bottles of pinot noir, pinot gris, reisling, and chardonnay.
Tim Atkin and Jamie Goode of Britain, Jacques Benoit and Anthony Gismondi of Canada, and Fernando Beteta of the United States joined eight local growers and winemakers in a master class organised and run by Central Otago Pinot Noir Ltd.
After a helicopter flight taking in vineyards of the Gibbston Valley and Cromwell and Alexandra basins, the group settled at Carrick Winery in the Bannockburn area to taste more than 30 Central Otago wines.
First they tried 12 of the district's top white wines, followed by a vertical tasting of Quartz Reef's pinot noir from 2002-6, and 12 of the best 2007 pinot noir.
A lunch at Carrick's restaurant included further education about what Central Otago's wineries had to offer.
Master sommelier Fernando Beteta, of Chicago, said people would be "pleasantly surprised" by the riesling in Central Otago - best-known for its pinot noir.
"It [Central Otago riesling] reminded me of that from parts of Europe, and showed beautiful winemaking.
"Central Otago wine shows high quality and consistency across the vintages."
Wine writer Tim Atkin, of London, said since he was last in the district six years ago Central Otago's white wines had developed significantly, and were emerging as respectable varieties in their own right.
"Pinot gris has got much more exciting, chardonnay is being taken more seriously . . . there is some fantastic riesling here," he said.
Central Otago was one of the most beautiful, exciting and young wine regions, he said.
"As the vines get older and sub-regional differences become more apparent it gets more and more exciting, particularly for pinot noir.
"I think it's one of the great pinot noir areas of the world, and one of the most under-priced."
The five international guests will attend Pinot Noir 2010, starting in Wellington on Monday.
