Juliet Riesling 2018 has just won the Champion Riesling Trophy and Clos des Pierres Chardonnay 2017 has won a Gold Medal at the New Zealand International Wine Competition in the weekend.

This superb result has left the Two Rivers winemaking team buzzing. “It means so much because these two wines are given a great deal of attention in the vineyard and in the cellar and hold a very special place with all of us.” says Sanna Stander, Two Rivers Production Winemaker

The Juliet Riesling, named after founder and winemaker David Clouston’s mother, is a medium dry style. This delicate wine is clean and fresh, packed full of lemon honey and apricot notes.
The Clos des Pierre Chardonnay is a racy and delicious wine which is unfined and unfiltered to retain great character and depth of flavour.

The NZ International Wine Show judging team in 2018 was the most experienced ever assembled for a wine competition in New Zealand and was led by senior wine judge Bob Campbell MW. The Champions List and Trophies of the show were announced at a special awards dinner, held in Auckland on Saturday 13th October.

The largest and most influential international wine competition in America, the San Francisco International Wine Competition (SFIWC) has been setting the standard for professional wine judging since its debut in 1980.
A Double Gold in this wine show means the wine was –
“Outstanding; earning top marks from all judges”.
More information on the show can be found here: http://sfwinecomp.com/

Two Rivers has been making sauvignon blanc since the winery’s first vintage in 2004. Their flagship wine, ‘Convergence’ Sauvignon Blanc, has enjoyed international success for years and winemaker/owner David Clouston believes sauvignon blanc should be cherished.
“Our mission is to select the finest parcels of fruit from the banks of both the Wairau and Awatere Rivers to craft wines that capture and emphasise this region’s intense power. The fruit for this wine is sourced from five separate Marlborough vineyards, each bringing a unique flavour spectrum and giving an abundance of fruit profiles to work with. The wine is then aged on fine yeast lees for 3 months, increasing the texture, complexity and mouth-feel of the palate, making a more age-worthy and food-friendly style”.

The Convergence Sauvignon Blanc has received many other notable accolades including the following:
• “The appeal of this style is undeniable.” – RH on Jancisrobinson.com, UK – 17/20
• “Impressive purity and bright, high energy flavours.” – Bob Campbell MW, NZ – 94 points
• “A stunning and exceptionally aromatic Sauvignon Blanc.” – Matthew Jukes, UK
• “A terrific Marlborough sauvignon blanc” Vic Harradine, CAN – 4.5 stars
• “A touch of complexity and finely balanced.”– Michael Cooper, NZ – 4.5 stars

Two Rivers ‘Juliet’ Riesling has always been a wine with great purity of fruit in an off-dry style but in 2016 the winemaking team wanted to step it up a notch. “We wanted to experiment making a Riesling with more texture and greater aging potential, while retaining fruit purity and balance.” notes owner/winemaker Dave Clouston.

The fruit was all hand harvested from the Two Rivers Brookby Hill Vineyard in the Southern Valleys. The two Riesling blocks on this vineyard ripened at different times so the blocks were harvested over multiple picks, nine days apart. “The fruit off the first block was very floral and delicious tasting,” recalls production winemaker Sanna Stander. “While the grapes off the second block seemed more complex with greater palate weight.” The two portions were fermented separately and stopped when the acidity and sugars were perfectly in balance. The two portions were then blended together before resting on lees for four months.

“The 2016 vintage was basically one big experiment but an experiment that has definitely paid off.” says Sanna. “We’ve received a string of great reviews and awards for this vintage, even before the wine’s official release. This latest gold is super encouraging and we’re all loving drinking this wine.”

Among the Two Rivers ‘Juliet’ Riesling 2016 accolades:
• Easter Show Wine Awards – GOLD
• NZ International – GOLD
• “Exquisite tension. Very impressed indeed.” – Bob Campbell – 95 POINTS
• “Lovely fruit quality here.”- Jamie Goode – 91 POINTS
• “Wonderful balance and harmony.” – Sam Kim – 95 POINTS
• “Exotic floral flavours on a poised, refreshing palate.” – Raymond Chan- 5 STARS

We are thrilled to announce Two Rivers ‘Brookby Hill’ Pinot Gris 2016 and Two Rivers ‘Juliet’ Riesling 2016 have just won GOLD medals in the New Zealand International Wine Show 2016.

The fruit for both wines came off the new home block vineyard, Brookby Hill, which was purchased by Two Rivers in December last year. “This is a huge moment for Brookby Hill, as well as a big tick for the new direction we took with this vintage”, notes Winemaker Dave Clouston. “It’s an outstanding result and certainly showcases the potential of the new home block”.

The ‘Brookby Hill’ Pinot Gris 2016 has 10% barrel fermentation and spent 4 months on fine lees before bottling. The wine is aromatic, textured and dry with beautiful flavours of marmalade, crystallised ginger, raw honeycomb and mineral notes. This wine is set for release early October.

The ‘Juliet’ Riesling 2016, named after Dave’s mother who adores Riesling, is also solely from fruit off Brookby Hill. Very harmonious, this wine is medium dry, with lime zest, cardamom, bitter orange and old fashioned ginger beer flavours. The ‘Juliet’ Riesling 2016 will be released later in the year and will age gracefully.

For a full list of medals, visit the New Zealand International Wine Show website:http://www.nziws.co.nz/awards/2016/?platform=hootsuite