An exotic Middle-Eastern mélange of poached quinces, sticky dates and tree-ripened figs, laced with vanilla bean, cardamom and hints of black licorice. This is a ripe, opulent expression of the pinot gris grape in a voluptuous off-dry style that has considerable concentration and a long, luscious finish. The three clones were hand-picked separately at high ripeness levels and whole-bunch pressed using very low maceration press cycles. The resulting juice was cold settled, then racked to fermentation vessels. Most of the juice went through a natural indigenous yeast fermentation in old French oak barriques and the balance was fermented in stainless steel tanks using cultured yeast. Towards the end of fermentation all the wine was transferred to stainless steel tanks where the fermentations were stopped, retaining 10 g/l residual sugar. The wine then spent a year on yeast lees (seven months in old barrels and the remaining time in stainless steel tanks) prior to blending and bottling. Kevin Judd is one of Marlboroughs pioneer winemakers whose career is intrinsically linked with the global profile of New Zealand wine. Kevin was born in England and grew up in Australia, where he studied winemaking at Roseworthy College and first made wine at Reynella in South Australia. He moved to New Zealand in 1983 and joined Selaks Wines. Subsequently, he became the founding winemaker at Cloudy Bay, a pivotal role during which he directed the companys first 25 vintages. In 2009 he established his own label, Greywacke, named after New Zealands prolific bedrock. The Name: New Zealand does not have a designated national rock, but if one was ever chosen it would have to be greywacke (pron: grey-wacky). This drab grey stone is found everywhere in New Zealand on the mountains, in the rivers, on the beaches. It consists of layers of hard, muddy grey sandstone alternating with thinner layers of darker mudstone (argillite). Technically the term greywacke refers to the sandstone (wacke is a German name for a type of sandstone), but it is also used as a general term for the entire rock.

Scorpo produces another excellent example of Pinot Gris from the Mornington Peninsula. Lifted aromas of pear apricot and green apple lead into a palate rich and silky in texture, the flavours showing depth and complexity, the acidity in perfect balance.

Floral with pear, spice and citrus flavours light to medium weight soft acid to close.

This Pinot Gris has a bright straw colour with lifted aromas of honeysuckle pear and floral notes. Ageing in oak has given the wine a creamy texture and with crisp acidity on the finish.

This is a very fine Gris. Its elegant nose shows hints of citrus, grapefruit, musk and apricot while on the palate the wine is structured and remarkably tight with mineral characteristics supporting rich, tropical fruit. The acid is very fresh and the length impeccable.

Dveri Pax's aim is to become the most important winery in Slovenia, farm sustainably and employ gentle winemaking processes to produce wines of finesse and freshness. From the cool climate of Slovenia comes this dry style Pinot Gris. Red apples and exotic spices dominate the nose, while retaining great freshness on the palate.

A core of yellow stone fruit, orange blossom and lemongrass surrounded by subtle savoury nutty notes.

The fruit for this Onannon Mornington Pinot Gris was handpicked and pressed immediately into the tank. It is then settled overnight and racked to both tank and old barrels. A cool fermentation took place over two months during which the wine was stirred regularly to increase texture. Resulting in wine with great aromas such as ripe pears, mixed stone fruits with hints of cooked green apple in the background. It then leads to a full flavoured, textured palate with a delightful finish.

An off-dry lower alcohol style, Felton Roads Bannockburn Riesling displays floral lift and fleshy stone fruit richness balanced by taut racy acidity. The fruit comes from Calvert & The Elms vineyards in the Bannockburn sub-region of Central Otago. The grapes are whole bunch pressed and fermented with indigenous yeasts, with the ferment arrested when the desired balance between acidity, alcohol and residual sugar is reached.