The Amisfield Wine Company is celebrating yet another tribute for its outstanding Amisfield Pinot Noir 2007 after the vintage was awarded a gold medal at the inaugural Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Wine and Spirit Competition.

"The Pinot Noir 2007 is in a class of its own," says Amisfield General Manager Fleur Caulton. "This is the third gold medal it has attracted this year and its reputation just keeps growing. The wine was awarded a Top 100 Blue Gold medal at the prestigious Sydney International Wine Show and a gold medal at the recent New Zealand International Wine Show. It's hard to get much better than that and the recognition the wine is receiving underlines the expertise of Amisfield winemaker Claire Mulholland and her team."

The initial Hong Kong competition attracted 1300 entries worldwide and Director Simon Tam says the Asian consumer wine market is a valuable segment of the international wine industry, growing at more than seven times the rate of any other region.

"It is time the millions of Asian wine lovers had an authoritative guide to the best wines, suited to their unique taste and consumption patterns," he says.

The Amisfield Pinot Noir 2007 was one of only two Central Otago Pinot Noirs singled out by the judges at the Hong Kong competition and Ms Caulton says the ongoing success the wine is achieving is boosting the profile of Amisfield wines internationally.

"The Asian market is a new and important one for us and the judges, who are wine professionals drawn from Hong Kong, Taiwan Singapore, Japan, Thailand and India have a lot of influence in the region. They have a strong following and to have their stamp of approval is significant for Amisfield."