The Rockburn Devil’s Staircase Pinot Gris 2016 picked up the Brother Cyprian trophy for Champion Pinot Gris at this week’s Bragato Wine Awards in Blenheim.

Grapes for this vintage of Devil’s Staircase Central Otago Pinot Gris wine were expertly grown at Dean Stevinson’s Lakeview Vineyard, on the shores of Lake Dustan, overseen by Rockburn Viticulturist Brett Duffy of Shamrock Ltd.

The Brother Cyprian trophy salutes the pioneering efforts of the Mission of the Society of Mary, the oldest winery in New Zealand. It was donated by Ian Miller.

Winemaker Malcolm-Rees Frances said “Central Otago is a great place to grow Pinot Gris with the cool nights maintaining acidity and bright fruit flavours, and bright sunshine encouraging textural components in the skins.”

Rockburn was awarded two further gold medals at the show – for their Nine Barrels Pinot Noir 2015 and Tigermoth Riesling 2016.

General Manager, Rebecca Poynter commented on this achievement: “It’s fantastic to have been awarded this trophy for a well-priced wine which is still in good supply. We were delighted with the other two gold medals – this tally of three golds and a trophy is significant for a boutique winery of our size.”

The Bragato Wine Awards celebrate viticultural excellence and recognise the influence of grape growers and their vineyards in creating the unique qualities of New Zealand wines, by judging the wines made from grapes grown on such specified vineyards.

A 13 strong judging team reviewed over 500 wines this year. The twist on this year’s awards is that all wines entered must be single vineyard wines, a first in the competition’s 23-year history. Chair of Judges for 2017 is Ben Glover.

A list of the full results can be found here. http://www.bragato.org.nz/wine-awards/about-the-awards/

About Rockburn Wines: https://www.rockburn.co.nz/

Rockburn takes its name from the rugged, rock-strewn, burn-scarred landscape of Central Otago. The boutique producer has two vineyards, one on the Gibbston Back Road in the Gibbston Valley, and the other at Parkburn in the Cromwell Basin with its state of the art winemaking facility based in Cromwell.

Rockburn not only produces Pinot Noir of stunning quality but also award winning Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Rosé and Fumé Blanc.