New Zealand’s wine industry received an unlikely ally in the form of vivacious American actor, Sarah Jessica Parker, in the battle of the Southern Hemisphere wine giants in the Sydney International Wine Competition (SIWC).
Sarah Jessica Parker’s collaboration with New Zealand’s Invivo Wines helped the Kiwis complete a clean-sweep of trophies and medals in the Competition’s Sauvignon Blanc category with a BlueGold medal for her debut Invivo X, SJP Sauvignon Blanc 2019 ($25).
Parker – who has enjoyed considerable acclaim for her perfume range – put her skills to good effect with the blending of the Sauvignon Blanc from five parcels of 2019 Marlborough fruit to produce an easy-drinking, but distinctive wine described by SIWC judge, Andrea Pritzker MW, as having: “Lively aromas of passionfruit and fresh-cut grass. Crisp and fresh displaying passionfruit intensity and floral overtones.”
Sarah Jessica Parker also hand-painted the “X” design on the bottle’s original label.
She says of her first foray into wine production and the subsequent reaction: “The whole marvellous experience was a great and unexpected opportunity and yes, at last we get to introduce the fruits of these last many months. We are thrilled to pour our first glasses, delight in imagining others do so and hope very much that you love it as much as we do.”
The medal continues a run of success for Invivo’s celebrity backed wines in the Sydney International Wine Competition, with Graham Norton’s Sauvignon Blanc and Australian Shiraz blends tasting success in previous competitions.
However, it wasn’t all one-way traffic for the Kiwis.
Australian wineries won 166 trophies and medals compared to 77 for New Zealand’s wineries. Other trophy and medal winners came from Argentina, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain.
Australian wineries took out 11 of the 13 trophies for the Style Categories and also best wine of the competition – the Jacob’s Creek Lyndale Chardonnay 2018 (A$50).
And while the Aussie winemakers couldn’t dent the Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc ‘fortress’, an Australian Pinot Noir did take out the trophy for best Pinor Noir, with Coles Liquor’s Ballewindi Pinot Noir 2018 (A$30) from Balnarring in the Mornington Peninsula ending a long run of dominance by New Zealand wines in the class. However, while an Australian Pinot Noir might have taken top spot, the Kiwis still won 20 out of the 24 medals in the category.
New Zealand’s Marlborough was once again the most successful wine region, with 52 trophies and medals, whilst Australia’s pre-eminence in the red wine categories saw South Australia’s Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Coonawarra, Adelaide Hills and the Clare Valley all perform strongly, along with Western Australia’s Margaret River.
Three wineries shared the ‘most awarded’ honour, with New Zealand’s Saint Clair Family Estate and Yealands Wine Group, and Australia’s De Bortoli Wines taking out nine medals each.
The Sydney International Wine Competition is unique in being the only international wine show that judges all its finalists in combination with appropriate food – meaning that consumers can select wines that are best suited to accompany specific meals, from BBQs to formal dinners.
An international panel of 13 highly-credentialed judges led by Warren Gibson, and including six Masters of Wine, judged the 1600 wines submitted, awarding 251 Top 100, Blue Gold and Gold medals, along with 24 trophies.
Trophy Winners of the 40th Sydney International Wine Competition can be found by visiting https://sydneywinecomp.com/2020-trophy-winners/.
