Wine growers welcome TPP – Radio NZ, 7 Oct
Philip Gregan, the CEO for NZ Winegrowers said the trade deal agreed yesterday would provide improved access into key TPP markets and a secure rules-based system that would help improve market access. “TPP countries account for about 60 percent of our wine exports at the moment and we face tariffs going into a number of those countries, including the United States, Canada and Japan – and as we understand it, those tariffs are going to be eliminated. So that’s a great deal for NZ wine exporters,” Mr Gregan said.
He said at current volumes, the TPP would be worth at least $10 million a year to wine exporters, and they had great ambitions to export considerably more in the years to come. “Some of our competitor countries such as Australia have had the benefit of free trade agreements going into the United States. This is going to place us on an equal footing with them, which is great.”
The “New World” Wine Awards – 8 Oct
The New World Wine Awards Champion wines are proving to be more popular than ever this year. The Champion Pinot Gris, The Luminary Martinborough Pinot Gris 2014, and the Champion Sparkling Wine, Hunter’s MiruMiruTM NV, are on the brink of selling out just ten days since the awards were announced on 28 September.
:The fact that the Champion Pinot Gris and the Champion Sparkling Wine have been snapped up so quickly reflects the recognition among consumers of the credibility of the New World Wine Awards for identifying top quality wines at affordable prices,” says Jim Harré, chair of the judging panel.
While there might be limited opportunities for consumers to buy the Champion Pinot Gris and the Champion Sparkling Wine given they are close to selling out, the good news is there are lots of other Gold medal wines showcased in New World’s 137 supermarkets nationwide, in the New World Wine Awards 2015 booklet and on the internet.
In order to be eligible for entry to the New World Wine Awards the wines entered must retail for $25 or less and there must be at least 5,000 bottles available for sale.
This year there were 1,309 entries in the New World Wine Awards, including a full range of varietals. The 13-strong independent panel of wine experts who judged the wines using the same internationally recognised points system as all other major wine shows awarded 86 Gold, 236 Silver and 483 Bronze medals.