Bay's eco-friendly wines praised

Using small sheep to graze the vines is one of the initiatives winegrowers in Hawke's Bay and around the rest of the country use as part of the sustainability programme. Photo / File

Hawke's Bay ranks second for entries produced under the New Zealand Winegrowers Sustainable Winemaking certificate programme at next month's prestigious 2015 Air New Zealand Wine Awards.

A record 99.7 per cent of all wines entered, which number 1420, have been sustainably produced.

Hawke's Bay has 320 entries - second only to Marlborough, which has 588 entries.

Third on the list is Otago with 184 wines contesting honours.

The sustainable winegrowing programme is based on standards that encourage its members to re-use and recycle materials and waste where possible to lessen the impact the winemaking sector has on the environment.

The programme also ensures international guidelines for sustainability practices are kept.

New Zealand Winegrowers sustainability general manager Philip Manson said he was proud of the high number of sustainable entries to be judged in Auckland between November 2 and 4.

"I'm delighted so many New Zealand wineries have voluntarily embraced the principles of sustainable wine production," he said.

"It's great that so many of our members are committed to delivering world-class wine to consumers in a way that enables our natural environment, the businesses and local communities to thrive."

As expected, red wines are up this year, especially in the pinot noir class where 304 are lined up, as against 176 last year.

Hawke's Bay wineries traditionally score well at the Air New Zealand awards and last year's Champion Wine of Show was the Vidal Legacy Hawke's Bay Chardonnay 2013.

Esk Valley and Church Road also picked up trophies.

This year's gold medal winners will be announced on November 10 and the trophies for each individual class will be revealed at a black tie dinner in Nelson on November 28.