- O:TU now available in Australia (JUL 08) - more
- O:TU lands in Ireland for summer (JUN 08) - more
- O:TU harvest 08 : stellar quality, yields down (APR 08) - more
- Golden Easter for O:TU (MAR 08) - more
- More international gold for O:TU (NOV 07) - more
- O:TU 2006 solo gold medal winner in intl show (AUG 07) - more
- Superb harvest for O:TU 2007 vintage (MAY 07) - more
- One of Marlborough's freshest savvies yet released (NOV 06) - more

O:TU now available in Australia (JUL 08)
O:TU is now exclusively available in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland through Scotchman’s Road fine wine distributors.

It joins the international Scotchman’s Road portfolio as a wine of excellence exhibiting both typicality and interest in the hottest current regional and varietal categories from around the world.

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O:TU lands in Ireland for summer (JUN 08)
O:TU Sauvignon Blanc is now available in Ireland through Mackenway Distributors and the country’s largest family owned drinks retailer O’Brien’s.

A Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc with a twist, O:TU only produces premium Sauvignon Blanc, and only from their Estate in the ‘Otuwhero,’ a cool climate coastal area in the South East Awatere Valley where the growing season is longer and cooler – producing distinct expressions of this variety.

In a Pouilly Fume/ Sancerre meets Marlborough sort of way, O:TU has crisp minerality coupled with all the green fruit flavour intensity you’d expect from the best of New Zealand’s Awatere Valley. In the temperate months of summer, it’s just perfect for chilling.

Mackenway Distributors are exclusively supplying the international gold medal winning wine to select Irish wholesale customers while O’Briens retail customers can purchase O:TU through any of the 27 O’Briens stores or www.obrienswine.ie.

O:TU (2007) received a Top 100 Gold Medal at the Sydney International Wine Competition and a Gold Medal at the New Zealand Royal Easter Show. The brand has worked its way around the globe in just two vintages, and is now being savoured in select spots from as far afield as Bali and Chicago... and now Dublin.

The 2008 vintage will be released in the Irish market in early September.

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O:TU harvest 08 : stellar quality, yields a little down(APR 08)
The 2008 vintage of O:TU Sauvignon Blanc is on its way, with fermentations now underway.

Otuwhero Estates’ young, low-yielding vineyards are maturing well, with grapes this year harvested from the original ‘Bottom Block’ that produced the earlier two vintages, as well as two exciting new blocks situated adjacent to the Bottom Block but with slightly differing elevations.

Winemaker Gordon Ritchie says the 2008 fruit quality is characterised by great varietal definition and vibrant fruit characters and is confident the style and quality of the earlier international gold-medal winning 2006 and 2007 vintages can be reproduced.

“I think this year’s O:TU (due for release in late July) will be instantly recognisable as displaying the characters and quality that are associated with the previous vintages,” he says.

Located in the South East corner of Marlborough’s renowned Awatere Valley, the Otuwhero Estate vineyards produce exceptional quality Sauvignon Blanc fruit that has up until this year also been sold to two other leading, gold-medal winning Marlborough producers. This year’s yield, although significantly larger than that of 2007, was slightly down on expectations.

O:TU is now being exported to the USA (California, Colorado, Illinois, Texas and Wisconsin), Indonesia, Hong Kong, the UK and Ireland, Australia and the Netherlands.

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Golden Easter for O:TU (MAR 08)
O:TU Sauvignon Blanc 2007 was awarded a gold medal at New Zealand’s oldest wine competition, the Royal Easter Show Wine Awards this week.

Under the guidance of renowned Awards Chairman Bob Campbell MW, and his deputy, Australian Mike De Garis, the judges awarded 17 gold, 41 silver and 96 bronze medals in the Sauvignon Blanc category, from over 1,300 entries across all varieties. 5.9% achieved gold medals.

Bob Campbell said that having been assisted by a run of very good vintages, New Zealand wine appears to have reached a new high level of quality according to the results of the show.

The gold is the second to date for the O:TU 2007 vintage, having also won a Top 100 gold medal at the Sydney International Wine Competition 2008 as well as a silver medal at the New Zealand International Wine Show.

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More international gold for O:TU 2007
O:TU Sauvignon Blanc 2007 has received a prestigious Top 100 Blue-Gold medal at the acclaimed Sydney International Wine Competition.

Awarded to only a handful of Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs, the best rated 100 wines of 2,000 plus entered into the competition across all varieties, countries and vintages receive a Top 100 Blue-Gold medal.

The success in Sydney follows that of this vintage’s predecessor, O:TU 2006, which was the only New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc to win Gold at Asia’s most prestigious wine competition, the Japan Wine Challenge 2007.

Made by Otuwhero Estates – specialist producers of super-premium, single-estate Sauvignon Blanc, O:TU hails from the Awatere Valley, a Marlborough sub-region imparting exciting new impetus to an established regional style.

Otuwhero Estates’ CEO John McLaughlan says the popularity of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is seeing consumers and importers in offshore markets start to look for stylistic differentiation across the region.

“The Awatere Valley has a cooler, longer growing season and so O:TU Sauvignon Blanc is greener and more herbaceous with more mineralilty and flinty characters than the typical Wairau Valley style Marlborough is well known for producing,” he says.

Delicious on its own or with all kinds of seafood and shellfish dishes, O:TU Sauvignon Blanc’s well-balanced and zesty acidity, luscious green fruit flavours and long crisp finish is being savoured in select spots across the globe.

Attracting wine entrants from all over the world, the SIWC is judged by a panel of judges just as international and aims to offer consumers independent information to help in their choice of wines more likely to enhance the pleasures of the daily dining experience and, by so doing, to add enjoyment and contentment to their everyday lives. For more information see www.top100wines.com.

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O:TU 2006 solo gold medal winner in acclaimed international show
O:TU Sauvignon Blanc 2006, produced by the Awatere Valley's Otuwhero Estates, was the only New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc to win a gold medal at Asia’s most prestigious wine competition, the Japan Wine Challenge.

International in flavour, the JWC 2007 attracted over 1,700 wine entries from 20 countries and was judged by a panel of 30 international judges from 10 countries, chaired by Consulting Editor of Decanter Steven Spurrier and featuring John Avery MW (past Chairman of the Institute of Masters of Wine).

O:TU will now compete for the Best New World White Wine Trophy and is up against six other gold medal winning New Zealand wines including the Gibbston Valley Pinot Noir 2006 and the Villa Maria Estate Reserve Chardonnay 2005, for the Best New Zealand Wine Trophy – both to be announced in October.

New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs entered receiving silver medals included Villa Maria Wairau Reserve 2006, Wither Hills 2006, Wairau River 2006, Whitehaven 2006, Grove Mill 2006, Kaituna Valley 2006, Highfield 2006, Spy Valley 2006. Bronze medal winners included Mt Riley 2007 and Babich 2006.

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Superb harvest for O:TU Sauvignon Blanc 2007 vintage (MAY 2007)
O:TU Sauvignon Blanc 2007 looks set to be the best vintage yet for the fresh new wine producer specialising in premium Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough’s renowned Awatere Valley.

Otuwhero Estates was relatively unaffected by the harsh frosts and climatic conditions that battered much of Marlborough's 2007 harvest and took in over 220 tonne from its vineyards in the Otuwhero area just off the South Pacific coast.

Operations Director Michael Davison says he is really pleased with the quality of this year's crop.

"The Marlborough vintage was characterised by a cold flowering period but the longer, cooler growing season in the Otuwhero [than elsewhere in the province] enabled our fruit to round out and gather particularly intense flavours," he says.

“O:TU Sauvignon Blanc 2007 looks set to considerably build upon the quality of our first vintage last year, helping to cement it as a premium Sauvignon Blanc label,” he says.

O:TU winemaker Gordon Ritchie also describes the currently fermenting 2007 vintage as likely to be in the top 20 per cent that Marlborough produces.

“There are some great flavours that truly reflect the quality and cool-climate origin of the grapes,” he says.

Otuwhero Estates is a fresh new specialist Sauvignon Blanc producer focused on export. Currently the company is seeking distribution in a number of Asian, European and American markets.

O:TU Sauvignon Blanc 2007 is due for release in mid July.

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One of Marlborough’s freshest savvies yet released (NOV 2006)
Otuwhero Estates, a new specialist producer of premium Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough’s Awatere Valley, has just released its first vintage of O:TU Sauvignon Blanc.

Striking rapport with wine lovers near and far, O:TU has had a short but sweet history and is already being savoured in select spots across the globe.

Hong Kong’s Limestone Coast Wines Ltd Director Angela Rolston says that as a premium Awatere Valley Sauvignon Blanc, O:TU showcases the varietal differences within the Marlborough region and therefore is very attractive for import and distribution.

“Because of its particularly cool-climate heritage, O:TU is crisper, zestier and more refreshing than many of its Marlborough counterparts and therefore provides an interesting point of differentiation on any wine list.

“The O:TU brand is also a decidedly fresh, New World brand that suits many of Hong Kong’s more revered urban establishments, says Angela.”

Otuwhero Estates is primarily focused on export to key Asian, European and American markets but is also providing O:TU to select establishments and retail outlets locally in New Zealand.

It owns extensive vineyards in the Otuwhero area of the lower Awatere Valley and is committed to producing significant volumes of highest-quality Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc under its O:TU label.

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