Seeing Gold at the Sakura Women's Wine Awards
This year for the first time we entered the Sakura Women's Wine Awards, the premier wine competition in Japan.
The Sakura Awards are unique because they are judged blind, by an all-female judging panel. The panel is made up of sommeliers, winemakers, wine school educators, journalists, restaurant and beverage directors, retail store buyers, importers and distributors.
Now in its 12th year, the Sakura Awards is Japan's most well known wine competition, with the results widely publicised. Over 4,000 wines are entered each year, with just a small number of Gold and Double Gold medals awarded.
And guess what - we cleaned up with the results!
We won:
- Double Gold: te Pā 2024 Riesling
- Double Gold: Pā Road 2023 Sauvignon Blanc
- Gold: te Pā 2023 Pinot Noir
- Gold: Montford Estate 2023 Sauvignon Blanc
- Silver: Montford Estate 2022 Pinot Noir
The awards are also unique in that the top wines are matched with special Japanese dishes. Montford Sauv Blanc was selected as one of the best matches for Sushi, and Pa Road Sauv Blanc was deemed one of the top pairings with Tempura.
These prestigious and widely promoted awards couldn't come at a better time, as we are now entering our second year of exporting to Japan.
