te Pā Wins Trophy for Champion Pinot Gris at NZ International Wine Show
Our whole team is celebrating another win after accepting the Trophy for Champion Pinot Gris for the acclaimed te Pā 2025 Pinot Gris, at the prestigious New Zealand International Wine Show in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland on Friday 17th November.
Founder and owner Haysley MacDonald says of the trophy win; “We won the trophy for Champion Pinot Gris for our te Pā Pinot Gris back in 2015 for the first time, so to follow that up with another trophy win for the same wine, in the same competition, exactly ten years later is an incredible achievement for us. It really is testament to the consistently exceptional style of Pinot Gris that our winemaking team is creating from our premium Marlborough fruit.”
“We aim to grow and produce delicious, sustainably-grown and well-priced wines with a sense of place, and we craft them specifically for our customers to enjoy – that’s what drives our team every day. To win a trophy in such a prestigious competition for that approach is immensely satisfying and a nice chance to reflect with pride on our journey to date.”
Chief winemaker Sam Bennett says, “We’ve seen Pinot Gris go from strength to strength as a consumer favourite in recent years, and it’s starting to rival Sauvignon Blanc in terms of popularity here in Aotearoa-New Zealand.
“We’re also now seeing more of our international customers starting to import Pinot Gris as crisp, refreshing, aromatic white wines from cool climate countries like New Zealand grow in popularity. While Sauvignon Blanc is still our main varietal, it’s very cool to now see a wine like Pinot Gris, which has traditionally just been for our domestic market, start to gain traction around the world too.”
te Pā has enjoyed a string of successes in recent months, including being featured in a major New York Times article, winning the Kauta Producer of the Year award with the TUKU Māori Winemakers Collective, and most recently being named as a finalist in two categories of the competitive New Zealand International Business Awards.
The trophy-winning te Pā Pinot Gris is available across Aotearoa-New Zealand, and several international locations including the USA and Ireland. The te Pā range is proudly represented in New Zealand by distribution partner Beverage Brothers Ltd.
