Wine & Rugby: Melton Estate, Canterbury
"Front Row wine for NZ Rugby World Cup"
A front row with perfect balance, good body and grassy tones might well sound like a coach’s description of his rugby team but these are in fact terms that sum up a new range of New Zealand wines released especially for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
Melton Estate, a boutique winery 20 minutes from the South Island city of Christchurch, has produced the range known as ‘Front Row Wines’ in a pro-active bid to market Canterbury wine and the winery as a destination, leading up to and during the World Cup in New Zealand.
The range includes Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling.
Melton Estate says the wines are "handcrafted for forward thinkers" and are made from grapes from established vineyards. Melton Estate is set on 12 acres and has some of Canterbury’s oldest vines.
Philip Caunter, owner of Melton Estate Wines, says the idea was to produce a Canterbury Wine range that could be used for events around the city and the region leading up to, and during, the World Cup.