New gold medal wins prove that Montana Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is still the benchmark, 30 years after Montana introduced this new wine style to the world. 

Montana Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2009 recently won gold medals at the Air New Zealand Wine Awards as well as the Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Competition. 

“These results are especially precious to us, coming as we celebrate 30 vintages of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc,” says Jeff Clarke, who heads up Montana’s winemaking team. “It shows the benefit of experiencing more vintages in Marlborough than any other winemaker, as well as our unflagging passion for quality.”

The Air New Zealand Wine Awards is the country’s premier competition, presented under auspices of New Zealand Winegrowers, the national grape growers and winemakers organisation. Like Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, the competition is 30 years old. It is only open for wines made in New Zealand, with 1,657 entries received for this year’s competition.

The Hong Kong show, by contrast, is in its inaugural year. Montana Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2009 was one of only two Sauvignon Blancs among the gold medals. The international judging panel awarded only 37 golds, out of 637 medals in total.

The multi gold-medal-winning Montana Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2009 will soon be available to wine lovers with a brand new look. The new label design is being rolled out in New Zealand and around the world this month to help convey Montana’s quality and New Zealand heritage.

“Our hope with the fresh look for Montana is that people will be reminded of the outstanding quality of our award-winning wines and continue to enjoy the wines of New Zealand. With these latest gold medals, wine lovers have even more reason to celebrate with us” says Clarke.