Akarua wines, Central Otago has been awarded three trophies at the prestigious Sydney International Wine Show including the coveted top prize – Best Wine of Competition for its 2017 RUA Pinot Noir.

The three trophies including Best Pinot Noir of Competition, Best Red Table Wine of Competition, topped by Best of Wine of Competition are being celebrated by the family-owned winery, located in Bannockburn, Central Otago.

Far from a sold-out rarity, as is often the case with heavily awarded wines; RUA Pinot Noir is widely available in NZ and beloved by Kiwis who describe it as their ‘go to’ and ‘everyday’ wine

With over 1700 wines assessed by 13 judges including five Masters of Wine, in the 39th year of the event the accolade is a significant achievement for Akarua. The Sydney International is the only wine show that judges all finalists matched with appropriate food.

Martin Moran MW writes of the RUA 2017 match “Lush, yet fresh, bramble fruit combines with a gently creamy oak derived character to create a very moreish wine that combines with the food to leave intense flavours for ages on the palate.”

Over the last five consecutive vintages, RUA has been lavished with accolades and awards from local and international wine competitions, including five trophies and 12 Gold Medals.

Akarua’s Head Winemaker Andrew Keenleyside is ‘humbled’ by the news. “2017 was a challenging, unsettled year which demanded an extremely high level of attention to detail from our vineyard and winery teams. Everyone went ‘above the call of duty’ to over- deliver on quality, it was a super-human effort andI am humbled by this result.”