SUMMERGATE FINE WINES: Villa Maria 50th Vintage Anniversary Press Lunch -- fotop.net photo sharing network

Villa Maria Estate is celebrating 50 years of Exceptional Winemaking
Summergate Welcomes Sir George Fistonich, Founder of Villa Maria to Hong Kong

Villa Maria Estate is New Zealand’s most awarded winery and this year marks 50 years since the first vintage of Villa Maria wine was bottled by founder and owner Sir George Fistonich.

To celebrate this exceptional milestone Sir George is hosting 50^th vintage celebration events in Villa Maria Estate’s key export markets throughout the next six months. His road show commenced in the United States in the beginning of May and commences this week in Canada, followed by events in Asia, Europe and New Zealand to celebrate 50 years of exceptional winemaking.

Summergate Fine Wines is delighted to be welcoming Sir George and Lady Gail Fistonich on the China leg of their global tour to celebrate the golden milestone of Villa Maria’s 50^th Vintage. This visit coincides with the most rapid phase of sales growth that both Summergate and Villa Maria have witnessed since launching the brand together in 2000 on the Chinese market. Year to date sales are up 70% and 55% on previous year, giving another great reason to celebrate.

After a series of events in China, including two glittering gala dinners in Beijing and Shanghai, the Villa Maria team will be in Hong Kong to host a third gala dinner at the Grand Hyatt, along with press, trade and consumer events. The events held for Villa Maria’s 50^th Celebration will show how beautifully New Zealand wines match Chinese cuisine and will also include some of the fabulous New Zealand produces available in Greater China.

The Hong Kong Celebration of Villa Maria’s 50^th vintage will start a few days before Vinexpo Asia-Pacific 2012 and will continue throughout the exhibition (May 29-31). Villa Maria will be one of the twenty wineries at the first-ever Vinexpo Asia Pacific New Zealand Wine Pavilion (stand number AB 74) and will be also showcasing its wines during seminars held in the Exhibition Hall. It will be the first winery to be featured in the NZ wine presentations’ series at the New Zealand Wine Pavilion, with a Sauvignon Blanc tutored tasting led by Sir George Fistonich on Tuesday May 29 (2pm-3pm). On the same day, Villa Maria Taylors Pass Marlborough Pinot Noir 2010 will be one of the wines chosen for ‘the regional complexities of New Zealand pinot noir tasting lab session’ presented by Masters of Wine Bob Campbell and Gérard Basset (seated tasting by invitation, 4pm-5pm, room 109/110, Level 1).

In 1961, George leased five acres of land from his father in Mangere, Auckland and started off with just an acre of vines. He harvested his first grapes in 1962 and made his first wine. Throughout the 1960’s Villa Maria was virtually a one-man band, with George’s wife, Gail, supporting him in his venture. He made dry red and white wines, sourcing grapes from the greater Auckland region. In the early 1970’s he started to employ staff and the company began to expand rapidly.

Today, Villa Maria remains proudly 100% New Zealand and family owned employing more than 250 permanent staff. The company has two state-of-the-art winery facilities in Auckland and Marlborough and exports premium New Zealand wine to over 50 countries worldwide.

Sir George Fistonich has spent five decades at the forefront of New Zealand’s wine industry. As an icon of the industry, Villa Maria is known for its bold and industry-changing moves such as moving to 100% screwcap through to the emphasis on sustainable practices in every area of the company.

“Great wine starts with exceptional vineyards and exceptional people. If you have these foundations, you have the best chance of making the best wines,” says George. “I embarked on this journey to celebrate this tremendous personal and professional milestone with the people whose continuous support played a critical part in Villa Maria’s success story over the last 50 years; trade partners, journalists and our loyal customers.”

Villa Maria Estate is putting a high degree of effort into the China market, as it is their most rapidly growing region. In 2010, Villa Maria appointed their first dedicated Asia market manager and in 2011 appointed their first China based employee reflecting their commitment to growing the presence of New Zealand wine and Villa Maria in this fast growing wine market. Villa Maria has exported to China since the inception of Summergate Fine Wines and Spirits in 2000 and was the first brand they carried. Summergate has grown rapidly over the past twelve years and have built the enviable reputation for quality wines and service, and for the second year in a row has been awarded the Trophy for Best Importer in the China Wine Challenge In 2011. Villa Maria is committed to building a long term sustainable business in China in partnership with Summergate, and looks forward to very successful prospects in China. “We share the same philosophy and commitment with Villa Maria Estate of providing quality wines and services. With Villa Maria joining us in Macau 5 years ago and in Hong Kong in 2011, we will continue to draw on our strength and build the Villa Maria brand in Greater China with integrity and reliability.” said Ian Ford, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Summergate.

In line with the high degree of focus from Villa Maria on the China market, to coincide with Villa Maria’s 50^th Vintage celebrations, Villa Maria will be launching its fully translated Mandarin website. This is a first for New Zealand wine in China and Villa Maria. This is the first translated website Villa Maria has created, and is the first fully translated website of a New Zealand wine sold in China. It will be soon available at www.villamaria.cn

New Zealand wine currently occupies 2% of Hong Kong wine imports, and represents 0.7% of New Zealand wine exports. Latest export statistics to April 2012 show a 21% rise in New Zealand exports to Hong Kong over the past 12 months.

Villa Maria Estate’s Milestones:
1962: Villa Maria’s first vintage
Late 60’s: Villa Maria’s Wine Club was established to educate consumers in wine & food matching
Early 70’s: Villa Maria employed first staff
Early 80’s Villa Maria instigated the first grape grower bonus system where grapes were paid for based on quality and not on quantity
1988: Export commenced
1995: Villa Maria became an accredited member of Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ)
2000: Marlborough winery opened
2001: Villa Maria decided to become a cork-free zone and to move to 100% screwcaps
2005: Auckland winery & vineyard park opened
2009: George Fistonich received the country’s first knighthood for his services to the New Zealand wine industry

The following award-winning wines are available in Hong Kong

Private Bin
Wines from the Private Bin range are styled to be fine examples of the variety with clean, fresh and lively flavors. Wines are blended from a variety of vineyards across a region or throughout the country.

Red

Hawkes Bay Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon Marlborough Pinot Noir Hawkes Bay Syrah

White

Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc East Coast Chardonnay Marlborough Riesling East Coast Gewurztraminer

Cellar Selection
Made identically to the Reserve range and separated only after full maturation, the Cellar Selection range represents wine of wide appeal. Crafted using the very best winemaking techniques, this range is styled to provide accessible drinking whilst still allowing for medium term cellaring.

Red

Marlborough Pinot Noir Hawkes Bay Syrah

White

Marlborough Chardonnay

Reserve
On a quality level, the Reserve range sits adjacent to Single Vineyard. Reserve wines are blends of a particular region's most outstanding vineyards in a specific vintage. The focus of the winemaking is to ensure purity of flavour, thereby reflecting the characteristics of the region.

Red

Hawkes Bay Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot

White

Clifford Bay Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough Chardonnay

Single Vineyard
Single Vineyard wines are 'terroir' wines, reflecting the unique vineyard sites from which they come. Due to the nature of producing wines from exclusive parcels of land, Single Vineyard wines are only available in very limited quantities.

Taylors Pass Vineyards

Red

Taylors Pass Vineyard Pinot Noir

White

Taylors Pass Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc
For details, please visit www.villamaria.co.nz