Hawke’s Bay winery Church Road has picked up Best International Chardonnay, the New Zealand White Trophy and New Zealand Chardonnay Trophy for its 2021 Grand Reserve Chardonnay at the International Wine Challenge (IWC) earlier this month.

Church Road 1 Single Vineyard Merlot also took out the New Zealand Red Wine Trophy as well as the New Zealand Merlot Trophy at the same awards, arguably the world’s most influential and rigorously judged wine competition. 

Founded in 1897 to become one of the oldest and most accoladed wineries in New Zealand, Church Road is renowned for being the first winery to craft exceptional Bordeaux-style red wines in New Zealand. Inching close to 130 years of winemaking excellence, Church Road strives for consistent evolution of their wines while continuing to harness the character of the region’s terroir. 

Above: Church Road's multi award-winning winemaker, Chris Scott.

Chief Winemaker, Chris Scott, said: “We are thrilled and very proud not only for Church Road, but for New Zealand to be crowned top International Chardonnay at the IWC.

This is the second time in three years that a Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay has taken this Trophy, which is a huge achievement for the region. The overall quality of Chardonnay coming out of this little corner of the world is incredibly exciting.

It is also terrific to pick up the New Zealand Red Wine Trophy, demonstrating that Merlot is capable of producing truly exceptional wine in Hawke’s Bay. 

“Congratulations to all the other successful New Zealand entrants, picking up a total of 23 Gold Medals and 10 Trophies, competing alongside powerhouses such as France, Australia, Spain and the US,” Scott added.