If one was to take a punt on which New Zealand winery would win the "Best of Nation" category at a major international wine show, selecting a prestigious purveyor of pinot noir or sauvignon blanc would be a pretty safe bet. However, at this year's San Francisco International Wine Competition, it was the Henderson-based fortified specialist Mazuran's that took the title.
Fortifieds have filled the flagons of generations of Kiwi wine drinkers. But then tastes changed to table wine and the final death knell for the local fortified industry came a decade ago, when excise rates on fortifieds almost doubled, forcing many businesses to sideline the stronger stuff.
However, Mazuran's celebrates its 75th anniversary this year with its commitment to the category rewarded by recent high-profile wins, which also saw it win Best Tawny - Best in Show Fortified with its 1962 Old Tawny port, and Best Port for its 1973 vintage port.
"As shown by our recent success in San Francisco, New Zealand is very capable of producing fortified wines that can rival and exceed the quality of those that come from more `traditional' global fortified winemaking regions," says Mazuran's Antony Hladilo.
"Being awarded 'Best of Nation' in a country so dominated by the success of its non-fortified wines should be viewed as a great reminder that there's no reason for the New Zealand wine industry to simply rest on its laurels, when there are so many different areas where global success can be achieved,'' he adds.
"Our fortified wines act as a friendly reminder to the rest of the world that the New Zealand wine industry is as broad as it is deep."
However, Mazuran's is now the only local winery specialising in fortifieds, with little new life being noted in the category. Apart from at Trinity Hill, where John Hancock has achieved a New Zealand first in making a port-style wine from the same grape varieties used in the Portuguese originals.
"I've always been a port fan: from Portuguese port in my early days to working in the Rutherglen region [in Victoria] and Barossa Valley, where those liqueur styles of port were made,'' he explains.
After planting a couple of traditional Portuguese port varieties when at Morton Estate, he went on to make his first fortified after moving to Trinity Hill.
"Port is all about ripe fruit, complexity and depth of flavour," he enthuses. "I guess the trick is finding the right circumstances to drink them in this fast-paced modern time - especially bearing in mind high alcohol and the various consequences of that."
With so many wonderful styles of fortified available from across the world and a handful of fine examples being made here, it's worth finding that time to sit back and savour some of these world-class styles.
