For leading New Zealand Master of Wine Bob Campbell it was a fine way to start the week.
A Monday at the desk - a long curving desk upon which stood more than 50 bagged bottles of Hawke's Bay finest examples of wine across three varieties from the much-lauded 2014 vintage.
There were 19 merlot cabernet blends, 19 syrahs and 16 chardonnays all lined up for the blind tasting to create the Hawke's Bay Winegrowers Association's inaugural Hawke's Bay Vintage Collection which will embrace the top 12 as adjudged by Mr Campbell.
That collection will then form the vintage profile of wines representing Hawke's Bay which will be sent around the globe, along with Mr Campbell's notes and scores, to key wine opinion leaders.
"This marks a very significant milestone as this is the very first Hawke's Bay Vintage Collection which all Hawke's Bay wine producers were invited to enter," association executive officer Melisa Beight said.