The team at te Pā Family Vineyards of Marlborough (producers of te Pā, Montford Estate, and Pā Road Wines) are celebrating once again, with the news of a category trophy win at the New Zealand International Wine Show.
The award-winning producer has won the Trophy for Best Rosé, for its Montford Estate 2023 Pinot Noir Rosé. The trophy was accepted by Haysley MacDonald (owner & founder of te Pā Family Vineyards) and Sam Bennett (Chief Winemaker, te Pā Family Vineyards) at the New Zealand International Wine Show awards ceremony in Tāmaki Makaurau – Auckland on Friday night.
Haysley MacDonald says he is incredibly proud of Chief Winemaker Sam Bennett, Vineyard Manager Gareth Exton and the whole te Pā team for securing such a high-level award in a competitive industry:
“To take home the trophy in such a fiercely competitive category like Rosé is a tremendous achievement for our whole team. We’ve seen demand for quality Rosé continue to build in recent years, and we have risen to the challenge by consistently growing and producing some of the best Rosé wines in New Zealand. We increase our Pinot Noir for Rosé production every year due to the insatiable demand, and every year we sell out, so that tells you something!
“Our Chief Winemaker Sam Bennett puts his signature, award-winning style on our Rosé programme. The Montford Estate 2023 Rosé is a prime example, with its beautiful and very on-trend colour, generous berry and stone fruit flavours, and a dry, crisp finish. We love sipping this wine with fresh kaimoana like oysters, clams, pāua and crayfish as well as garden salads and barbecued meats. Competitively priced, and with the all-important sustainably grown and vegan-friendly credentials, it’s sure to be the wine of choice on Kiwis tables this summer.”
Sam Bennett, Chief Winemaker, says the latest trophy win has come as a pleasant surprise and is testament to the 2023 growing season and the high quality of the fruit he had to work with.
“We were fortunate to have such a fantastic season in 2023, and the quality of the fruit really shines through in the Montford Estate Rosé. As with all our wines, the awards we receive and the support we get from wine drinkers is a direct reflection of the many hands and thousands of hours of hard work that go into the grapes through the growth cycle and then into the winery. Well done to our viticultural and vineyard team for producing such outstanding fruit.”
The team also enjoyed success recently for its flagship te Pā Pinot Noir Rosé when it was awarded a gold medal and spot in the coveted New World Wine Awards Top 50, which recognises the best wines in the country for under $25. The Montford Estate 2023 Sauvignon Blanc, and Montford Estate 2021 Pinot Noir were also both awarded gold medals and Top 50 spots in the competition, completing a hat trick of wines in the popular supermarket-run wine awards programme.
Montford Estate’s growth journey
Since its launch in late 2019, Montford Estate has gone from strength to strength in the New Zealand market and is on track to follow its sister brand Pā Road in becoming one of the fastest-growing supermarket wine brands in the country. The brand has been promoted heavily in New Zealand this year, with the team hosting the Wine Master Class at the Auckland Food Show as well as pouring samples for thousands of eager food and wine lovers at the event. Traditional and outdoor media has also been a key tool for the brand, through an advertising and content partnership with Dish Magazine, and street posters in key central Auckland locations.
Initially available in a small number of liquor retail stores, the brand is now stocked in all the major supermarkets, including New World, Countdown, Pak n Save, Four Square and FreshChoice, as well as continued expansion in liquor retail.