Award-winning N.Z. wines score success in London

Press, 5 December 1985, Page 16

Award-winning N.Z. wines score success in London

International praise has followed the local success' for a New Zealand wine

company. After winning more major awards at the National Wine Competition than any other company, Cooks McWilliam’s has been presented with two gold medals at the sixteenth International Wine and Spirit Competition in London.

Both Cooks Fernhill Cabernet Sauvignon 1983, and Cooks Chardonnay 1983 collected golds: a silver medal went to the 1984 vintage Cooks Chardonnay. This wine was awarded a gold at this year’s National Wine Competition. The International Wine and Spirit Competition was founded in 1970 by the wine expert Anton Massel to reward quality in wines and spirits at an international level.

Competition spokesperson Joan Stock says consumer opinion plays an important role in adjudication. “Lay judges sit alongside trade experts on every adjudication panel”, she explains. “We believe this enhances the prestige and in-

tegrity of the competition.” According to the president of this year’s competition, the Marquis de Goulaine, the International Wine and Spirit Competition is the world’s “most unbiased and discerning” assessment forum. Previous presidents include Californian, Robert Mondavi and Madame Odette Pol Roger, from the French champagne house. Joan Stock notes that the competition has become an assessment platform for winemakers from less well known wine-producing countries. More than 930 entries were received from 24 countries.

“New Zealand wines are getting better all the time”, she says. “We were very disappointed by the number of New Zealand entries this year, as your wines are very much missed by all here”.

Cooks McWilliam’s already has a strong presence in the English market. A new agency agreement for the company’s Cooks brand was recently concluded with Dent & Reuss Limited, a subsidiary of the major liquor distributor, H.P. Bulmer.