A GISBORNE chardonnay has taken out a top honour in an international wine award, proving this region has all the ingredients to produce the finest, world-class wines.

Bushmere Estate’s 2007 Classic Chardonnay received a gold platinum medal in the Wines Style Asia awards held in Singapore.

The prestigious competition attracted thousands of entries from around the world and Bushmere Estate’s was one of four New Zealand wines to win gold platinum.

“It’s great to be up against wines from all over the world because it shows the high quality of Gisborne chardonnay,” said Bushmere Estate owner David Egan.

“For so many years people haven’t respected the quality of chardonnay and aromatics from the district, but now the world is recognising what Gisborne has to offer.

“Major companies bought grapes from Gisborne because they felt it was a bulk wine area but the boutique wineries here have proved it is all about quality. This award tops off all the hard work that has been done in this region.”

The award-winning chardonnay was made by Amelia Riwai, with grapes grown by farm manager David Hart.

Mr Egan said Asia and India were exciting new markets for New Zealand wines and more wineries were taking advantages of openings there.

“It’s a hard market but there are a lot of mature palates there that enjoy fine wine. With all the work the government is doing to secure free trade agreements in Asian countries, we must get right behind it and make sure we have wine products we are proud of.”

David and Shona Egan are passionate about seeing the Gisborne wine industry thrive and would like to see the profile of the wine trail here continue to grow.

“If we don’t push it, it’s not going to happen. For the local wine industry to grow, we have got to have the support of Gisborne people. The viticulture industry provides a lot of jobs and for those jobs to remain, people need to be thinking Gisborne wines and be proud of them,” Mr Egan said.