KEY POINTS:
Winemaker Wither Hills has taken out full-page newspaper advertisements denying making special wine batches for competitions.
Chief winemaker Brent Marris has signed the ads, pledging that the vineyard's 2006 sauvignon blanc is "up to the standard you have come to expect from my previous vintages".
It comes after the Weekend Herald revealed the popular wine was denied a prized endorsement because judges of the annual Cuisine New Zealand sauvignon blanc awards were sent a different wine to that on shop shelves.
Mr Marris said the only mistake made was that the judges' samples were not widely available.
"We technically broke Cuisine's rules, but from a flavour point of view they were the same."
The sample, from a batch called BR315, came from the Wither Hills cellar and made up 2228 cases of a total of 100,000 cases of the 2006 sauvignon blanc.
Mr Marris said several bottling runs were in the marketplace at any one time. The challenge was to ensure their consistency.
"No single bottling run for any large-producing brand would be exactly the same blend, because you can't have a tank for 100,000 cases' worth of wine. The quality and flavour would arguably be the same. The chemical analysis would be marginally different."
He maintained that the 2006 sauvignon blanc was consistent, despite the findings of the Cuisine judges, which he said were inconclusive.
New Zealand Winegrowers chief executive Philip Gregan said the organisation was investigating all aspects relating to the matter.
The investigation, due to be completed by the end of the week, could include looking into the wine's medal-win at the Air NZ awards.
Cuisine magazine made its reservations known to New Zealand Winegrowers before the Air NZ awards, but Mr Gregan did not tell Wither Hills until after the inconsistency was confirmed.
"If we had gone to Wither Hills, it would have been the most inappropriate action," he said. "There is process that always has to be followed."
