Villa Maria Estate has won the Anglo Overseas Trophy for New Zealand Wine Producer of the Year 2006 at the prestigious Inter-national Wine and Spirit Competition.

Announced at the awards banquet recently held in London, Villa Maria Estate was the successful winery of the five New Zealand wineries shortlisted for this award. The second time in just three years that Villa Maria Estate has received the title of New Zealand Wine Producer of the Year, this is a true reflection of the winery’s ability to consistently produce wines of superior quality and international acclaim.

Villa Maria is no newcomer to awards, and it regularly picks up prestigious trophies at regional and global competitions, especially for the estate’s exquisite Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir, which are benchmarks for the region’s wines. In fact, Villa Maria confidently claims to produce New Zealand’s most awarded wines.

The Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc Private Bin 2005 was awarded a Gold Medal at this year’s International Wine Challenge and picked up five stars from Winestate, Australia’s national wine magazine.

The Villa Maria Pinot Noir Cellar Selection Marlborough 2005 was awarded five stars and won the supreme Best Buy of the Year award in the best-selling Michael Cooper’s Buyer’s Guide to New Zealand Wines 2007. Michael praises the Villa Maria Cellar Selection Pinot Noir as “a seductively scented, very graceful and flowing wine with a core of cherryish, plummy, spicy fruit, finely integrated oak and ripe, supple tannins. Richly coloured, with excellent depth and a smooth, silky texture, it’s the sort of Pinot Noir that keeps drawing you back for another glass... and another.”

Villa Maria Estate owner and managing director George Fistonich, was elated with his winery’s result at the 2006 IWSC. “To have our winery recognised as New Zealand’s best wine producer for 2006 is a tremendous achievement and one of which we are all very proud.”

The International Wine and Spirit Competition was founded in 1969 and is widely regarded as the premier competition of its kind in the world. Its aim is to promote the quality and excellence of the world’s best wines, spirits and liqueurs. Competitions director Frances Horder explained why those influential in the wine and spirits industry support this competition above many others.

“The competition has the support of many of the world’s top wine and spirits producers, because we strive to set the international benchmark for quality,” said Mr Horder.

“The unique combination of a detailed technical analysis and specialist judging panels means that gaining any competition award is an outstanding achievement. Our focus is to communicate the value of our medals to retailers, restaurateurs and consumers in every major market,” he added.

Villa Maria wines are proudly distributed and marketed by Wands Ltd, a subsidiary company of the Farsons Group of Companies, and are

available on most good wine lists as well as from Wands Cash & Carry

in Qormi