I blind-tasted four dozen Central Otago wines; these six producers turned out the best bottles.
Akarua A fast-rising star in the subregion of Bannockburn, this nine-year-old winery produces a rich, dark-berryish Pinot Noir and a lighter, easygoing version, The Gullies, from its youngest vines.
Chard Farm One of the oldest wineries in the area, Chard Farm produces Finla Mor, the firmly structured wine that scored the highest in my blind tasting.
Felton Road Like a Burgundy estate, Felton Road produces a range of wines with individual characters. The "basic" but still impressive offerings from Central Otago's most famous winery, founded in 1991, are the easy-drinking Cornish Point Drystone and Felton Road Pinots; the more complex stars are the Block 3 and hard-to-obtain Block 5 wines.
Gibbston Valley Founded in 1981, Gibbston may be Otago's most-visited winery, thanks to its excellent restaurant and organized vineyard and cellar tours. Gibbston Pinots are some of Otago's most structured yet ripely perfumed.
Peregrine This fairly new winery, launched in 2003 by a former owner of Chard Farm, is worth visiting if only for its architecture. Visitors can also invest in one of the housing plots that are being developed among the vines. The wide range of wines includes a rich, modern, plummy Pinot Noir.
Rippon One of the oldest, most beautiful and certainly most photographed wineries in the region, Rippon produces Pinots that are lighter and more delicate than some of the bigger efforts coming from Burgundy and California.
Also Noteworthy Bald Hills, Berridge, Carrick, Mt Difficulty, Quartz Reef, Rabbit Ranch and Two Paddocks.
—R.J.
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