Entries opened this week for the 2010 Air New Zealand Wine Awards, with all 2010 vintage wines entered required to be 100% sustainably produced.
The change, along with the New Zealand wine industry's other sustainability initiatives, signalled awards organiser New Zealand Winegrowers' continuing focus on the environmental integrity of New Zealand wines, global marketing director Chris Yorke, of Auckland, said.
While it was too soon to say which Gibbston valley vineyards were preparing to enter, Mr Yorke said the 2009 pinot noir vintage "has been very, very good in Central Otago and the Air New Zealand Wine Awards is the most prestigious wine competition in the country, so a gold medal will be something they aspire to.
"A gold medal, or even a trophy, does make a real difference [to a vineyard's business]."
The independent competition attracted some of the world's top judges.
They included Ben Edwards, of Australia, president of Sommeliers Australia and director of the Wine Guide, and Stephen Brook, of the United Kingdom, author of the Wines of California and contributor to a number of wine publications based in Austria, Sweden and Korea.
Entries close on September 17.
The medal-winning wines will be announced on November 10 and the trophy, elite gold and pure elite gold medal-winners announced at the Air New Zealand Wine Awards gala dinner on November 20.
Queenstown Resort College is launching a new round of its popular Winemaker Series later this month.
The new series starts on Tuesday, August 24, with a tasting and presentation from Alan Brady, of Mt Edward Winery, who is widely regarded as the godfather of the Central Otago wine industry after planting the first grapes in Gibbston valley in 1981.
Other wineries confirmed for the six-week series include Olssens Winery with food matching by chef Ben Batterbury from the Rees.
The series will end with a tasting from award-winning winery Cloudy Bay.
The fun and social wine-tasting evenings, held in the common room at the college, formerly called the Book Cafe, have been attracting up to 60 people a night, which sommelier and tutor Paul Tudgay called "a huge success."
The tastings will be $10 per head, or $50 for the series of six.
