Hawke’s Bay winery, Church Road has achieved excellence at the annual Winestate Wine of the Year Awards announced tonight with Chief Winemaker, Chris Scott, crowned New Zealand Winemaker of the Year for a record fifth time.
Scott said of the wins: “It’s a real honour to win Winemaker of the Year for a fifth time – wow! This award is as much for the team here at Church Road as it is for me. We have such a huge amount of skill, experience and dedication amongst the Church Road family and an incredible fruit resource from some of the very best vineyards in Hawke’s Bay. It is a bit of a dream really, to do what we do and we’re lucky to be able to do it in such a beautiful part of the world.”
As an unprecedented five-time winner of Winestate New Zealand Winemaker of the Year (2013, 2016, 2020, 2021, 2022), Scott represents the culmination of 125 years of winemaking excellence at Church Road that showcases the natural expression of some of Hawke’s Bay’s most prized grapes and vineyards.
To add to the celebrations, undoubtedly one of the most awarded Chardonnays of the year, Church Road 1 Terraces Chardonnay 2021 was awarded both Winestate Chardonnay of the Year across Australia and New Zealand, and New Zealand Wine of the Year, while Church Road 1 Merlot 2020 won Merlot of the Year. Pernod Ricard Winemakers NZ, who owns Church Road, also won New Zealand Wine Company of the Year for the second year in a row.
