GIbbston Valley’s 25th harvest

Gibbston Valley Winery is celebrating its 25th commercial grape harvest with an anniversary dinner:

As part of the celebration and the company’s ongoing commitment to its local community, Gibbston Valley Winery is proud to announce that national charity Cure Kids will be the beneficiary of the night. . . 

Guest speakers on the night will include founding Gibbston Valley winemaker Alan Brady and current Gibbston Valley winemaker Christopher Keys, both of whom will sign the bottles going up for auction, making them real collectors’ items.

Mr Brady was first to plant and commercially produce wines in Gibbston Valley, harvesting pinot noir, pinot gris and a ‘dry white’ blend in 1987, while Mr Keys has been at the winemaking helm for the last six years.

Gibbston Valley Winery was one of the early pioneers of what became the ‘pinot noir phenomenon’, a wine that’s now the second-largest variety in New Zealand to sauvignon blanc.

Twenty-five years later, a dream run of weather producing high quality fruit has the winery predicting an outstanding 2012 vintage. . .

Over the years, Gibbston Valley Winery has won more than 300 national and international awards, helping put the Central Otago wine region on the map.

Thanks to the pioneering spirit of those such as Gibbston Valley Winery founder Alan Brady, the Central Otago region now has approximately 2000 hectares of vines and over 100 producers, and this year’s total harvest is expected to be about 7000 tonnes. . .

Alan Brady was one of Central’s wine pioneers and Gibbston Valley has led the way in combining fine wine and fresh food.

We’ve stopped for lunch at Gibbston several times on our way to or from Queenstown and usually pop in for a visit when we’re hosting friends from overseas.

Every meal has been delicious, complemented by the wine and the service which is always relaxed and professional,even when the restaurant is very busy as it often is.