What to expect at this year’s New Zealand Wine Festival in Busan

With the New Zealand Wine Festival in Busan less than two weeks away, here is a preview of what you can expect.

Including a great variety of excellent food and entertainment, 25 New Zealand wines, featuring numerous premium wineries will be on offer.

This year’s event moves to the iconic Lotte Signiel Hotel in Haeundae and showcases a variety of award-winning wineries from New Zealand paired with a memorable culinary experience.

The event takes place from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. and is one of the city’s most anticipated events each year.

Tickets for the individual events are KRW 150,000 for Kiwi Chamber members, KRW 170,000 for non-members and KRW 180,000 for at-the-door purchases. Group discounts are also available for KRW 150,000 per ticket for groups of eight or larger.

For more information and registration, contact the chamber at events@kwichamber.com or visit www.kiwichamber.com.

Here are some wines to look out for at the event.

Akarua

Its superbly aromatic and characterful Sauvignon Blanc is regarded as one of the best in the world. The variety has become emblematic of the Marlborough region, a temperate oasis where the Edmond de Rothschild Heritage-owned Rimapere is among the stand-out vineyards and wines. Its superbly fruity pinot noir is also known for its exceptional quality and is the jewel in the crown of Central Otago, the South Island’s southernmost wine region. This wine sets itself apart thanks to its extreme character and is the highlight of Akarua, the newly acquired property of Edmond de Rothschild Heritage.

Craggy Range

Craggy Range Vineyards represent New Zealand’s premium wines. She was named one of the world’s top 50 wineries along with Chateau Margaux and Opus One, and is also known as the world’s most beautiful vineyard. Created by Steve of ‘Master of Wine’ in 1997, this wine has maintained its highest reputation ever since.

Flying Kiwi

Alan McCorkindale, winemaker of Flying Kiwi Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, won the New Zealand Winemaker of the Year Award twice. World-renowned wine critic James Holliday praised Alan for “The Genius can be described with one word,” while MW Rosemary George praised him for “If wine lovers are asked to pick the New Zealand winemaker TOP 5, his name will never be missed.”

In addition to its cute labels and impressive naming, Flying Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc is produced in Wairau Valley, a subdivision of Marlborough, and is of excellent quality.

Hunter’s Wines

In the 1980s, the most important time in New Zealand’s wine history, Hunter’s Wines to emerge were all award winners, at the Marlborough National Wine Show. As a result, Hunter’s Wines quickly emerged as Marlborough’s representative winery and were also selected as 1001 wines to drink before dying. Hunter’s always tries for quality with lots of passion, the reason why they are loved by people all over the world.

Stanley Estate Wines

‘The land of the long white cloud’, Aotearoa, filled the founders’ dreams, a land of new adventures, pastures new, and a place to put down roots and immerse themselves in their new home in 2003, the Awatere Valley, Marlborough.

With a passion for horticulture, sustainability, and guardianship of the land for future generations, the pair set out to grow a vineyard where their philosophy could flourish and express themselves in wine.

The vineyard is nestled under the cool gaze of Mount Tapuae-O-Uenuku (from Maori it poetically translates as the ‘Footprint of the Rainbow’), as seen on the Stanley Estaes label. In keeping with their passion for adventure, Stanley Estates was born, resulting in an exciting and extensive range of single vineyard, and award-winning wines.