On October 25-27, the 24th IGC International Wine and Spirits Grand Prix was successfully held in Shenzhen. A total of 268 participating companies from 31 countries and regions participated in this competition, a total of more than 1,000 wines registered for the competition, and after preliminary screening of quality and suitability, 859 products finally qualified for the competition. After 2 days of professional review and review by 13 expert judges and 12 cutting-edge judges, 405 winning wines were finally selected, including 7 double gold awards, 31 gold awards, 100 silver awards and 267 bronze awards.
Among them, Mission Estate Winery's wines won gold and bronze, and the importer, Tianjin Marina Milan Wine Co., Ltd., also won the best brand operator award. We look forward to the success of these wines in the Chinese market!
Award-winning wines
2021 Mingsheng Estate Sauvignon Blanc Dry White Wine
Region: Marlborough
Grape variety: Sauvignon Blanc
Alcohol content: 13.5 degrees
Capacity: 750ml
Vinification process: After the grapes are harvested, after gentle pressing and as little contact as possible with the peel, only artesian juice and gentle pressing juice are used for low-temperature fermentation. Yeast also uses special yeast for Sauvignon Blanc. After fermentation, we bottle the best of them.
Wine Review: Fresh and bright on the palate, with notes of grass, nettle, gooseberry and fresh vanilla. It is more exuberant to drink, and the mouth is full of passionflower, gooseberry and fresh vanilla.
2019 Mingsheng Estate Pinot Noir dry red wine
Grape variety: Pinot Noir
Vinification process: Before fermentation, we cold-macerate the grapes and then ferment quickly. The daily drenching operation is performed to obtain tannins, and once the fermentation is complete, the wine is kept fermented with a skin for 2 weeks before pressing until the best tannins and colours are obtained. Further fermentation takes place in stainless steel barrels to produce a bright, fruity style wine.
Wine Review: This Pinot Noir is bright in colour and has sweet notes of strawberry, red cherry and spices. The oral expression is medium-bodied, with rich sweet fruit and spice flavors and mature, silky tannins. The structure is meticulous and the aftertaste is long.
Introduction to the winery
The birthplace of The Minsant's wine industry, was founded in 1851 by French missionaries and has been run by the Church ever since.
Paul Mooney is one of New Zealand's most experienced winemakers, having worked at Mingsheng Estate for 40 years, and his winemaking philosophy was greatly influenced by his mentor, The Faithful John. In the 1860s, John trained as an winemaker in Bordeaux.
Mingsheng Estate combines the traditional techniques of the Old World with the latest technology to produce wines that are elegant, structurally and textured, and suitable for food pairing. In addition to precise viticulture techniques, the vineyards use canopy sensors and GPS technology to find the best appellations for specific styles of wine. Minsant Estate has always believed that attention to detail determines whether the wine produced is good or more outstanding.
The story of the Ming Saint Manor in 1838 begins with a group of French missionaries. This year, two years before New Zealand became a British colony, they sailed to New Zealand with papal blessings, faith, rich winemaking experience, and grape seedlings.
In 1851, between Napier and Hastings, the priests established a missionary station in Pakowhai, next to the Ngaruroro River, where they followed church traditions by building farms, planting fruit trees, grapes and raising cattle.
In 1858, the missionaries purchased land in Meeanee and formed a community there. Pakowhai's farmhouse was also relocated here, and churches and schools have since been established here. To continue their tradition of drinking wine, they planted grapes here, which are used to make holy wine and table wine.
In 1870, Friar Cyprian Huchet, from a family of wines from the Loire Valley of France, was appointed winemaker at the Manor of Mingsheng, directing the first wine for sale recorded in New Zealand history. Growing up in a French vineyard and cellar, Cyprian Huchet's exceptional winemaking skills laid the cornerstone of Minsant Estate's success in the wine industry.
In 1880, a double-storey building worth £10 in 2020 was erected. This is known as the Hacienda, which will also be the home of the early French missionaries for the next 30 years.
In 1897, he bought the 800-acre Mingsheng Estate from the Tiffen family. The monks traveled daily between Meeanee and the winery, where orchards were built and grapes were planted. The first grapes were planted on a gentle slope to the south, next to where the now annual Mission Concert is held.
In 1909, during a devastating flood, the priests realized that the land might suffer from periodic floods, so Father Smythe decided to relocate. The entire building was cut into 11 parts and moved with logs and tractors to the location of the present-day Mingsheng Manor, just 5 kilometers away, but it took 2 days to complete.
In 1911, English plane trees were planted on the avenue leading to the estate. In 1914, a new Gothic chapel stood here and was named "Mount St Mary's".
In 1930, a three-storey concrete-built residential apartment was built here. On February 2 of the following year, the students moved into the brand-new apartment. However, the very next morning, at 10:47 a.m. on February 3, 1931, an earthquake of 7.9 on the Richter scale in Hawke's Bay nearly destroyed the entire Ming Saint Estate. Two priests and seven students in the chapel were killed.
In 2007, the winery was expanded, doubling our grape press capacity and reaching an annual press capacity of 2,000 tonnes. The design of the production facilities also enables the energy-efficient use of hydropower – an important commitment to the environment.
In 2017, Château Des Château Des Mins saints acquired the famous Ngatarawa Wine. Built in 1981, Nadwe Winery is a pioneer in the wine industry in the Bridge Pa triangle of Hawkes Bay. This brand acquisition makes the product catalog of Mingsheng Manor even stronger.
Today, Minsant Estates selects quality grapes from New Zealand's regions, including the winery's own vineyards in Hawke's Bay and Marlborough regions, combining the art of Old World winemaking with state-of-the-art winemaking techniques to produce a range of award-winning, high-quality New Zealand wines.
Minsant Estate sustainably cultivates vineyards
Hawkes Bay
Located on the east coast of the North Island, hawke's Bay wine region is New Zealand's warmest appellation. The long and warm growing season provides excellent ripening conditions and rich flavour development, providing wines with intense fruity flavors.
Our Hawkes Bay vineyards in Gimblett Gravels and Taradale focus on Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, but also include other small grape varieties such as Semillon and Cabernet Franc.
Marburg
Marlborough is located at the top of the South Island and the conditions are perfect for producing cool-climate wines. Marlborough is one of the sunniest and driest places in New Zealand, with a long growing season and a large temperature difference between day and night. This results in fruity wines with strong variety characteristics.
Our Marlborough vineyards are located on the cable car road in the Avoort Valley and offer cool Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris grape varieties.
Minston Estate has a total of 3 vineyards in the Hawkes Bay appellation with a total planting area of 34 hectares. The three vineyards are Mere Road Vineyard, Gimblett Road Vineyard and Greenmeadows Vineyard. The first two are located in New Zealand's famous boutique wine sub-region, the Gimblett Gravels region.
Gimblett Gravels
Gimblett Gravels is the hottest sub-appellation in Hawkes Bay. Located 14 km inland from the Pacific Ocean, away from the influence of cold sea breezes, it has a gravel soil with good water permeability. This soil is able to absorb heat quickly and feed it back to the grapes, which creates a warm nighttime environment for the growth of the grapes – which is essential for the ripening of red grapes.
The climate of the Gravel Region of Gibralte is warm, but not hot, with an oceanic climate similar to bordeaux. But the number of days with temperatures above 30°C throughout the year is much less than in Bordeaux (10-15 days), a feature that provides red wines with pleasant floral aromas.
Minsant Estate's Mere Road vineyard in the gravel district of Gibralte produces fresher and more refreshing wines, while the wines from Gimblett Vineyard exhibit a rich mineral atmosphere, strong structure and rich variety characteristics.
Rest of Hawkes Bay
Greenmeadows Estate Vineyards
Greenmeadows Vineyards is located in The Manor of Minsant. It is located at the bottom of Mount Taradale, 5 km from the Pacific Ocean. This location has a unique frost-free microclimate, influenced by cool cool sea breezes. In general, grapes sprout relatively early in the Hawkes Bay appellation. The soil of the vineyard is dominated by river silt soil, mixed with a small amount of sand and gravel, which is relatively fertile and has a strong water storage capacity, so it does not need irrigation.
Related Certifications:
BioGro Certified Organic by New Zealand (Pinot Gris Vineyards)
SWNZ New Zealand Wine Sustainability Certification
ISO14001:2015 – Environmental Management Systems
The Cable Station vineyard at Minschaft Manor is located in the Awatere Valley in Marlborough and covers an area of 100 hectares.
The Awatere Valley, a narrow valley very close to the Pacific Ocean, has a cool, dry, windy climate that allows grapes to grow longer than in the Wairau Valley, another sub-region of Marburg. In addition, cold air from the south also delayed the ripening of grapes in the region. There is very little rainfall here, and there are 2457 hours of sunshine a year (Hawke's Bay has only 2281 hours). The surface layer is loose, and the soil composed of clay, sandstone and mudstone on the bottom layer is relatively dry during the hot and windy summers and requires additional irrigation. The vineyards are blessed with excellent soil quality and good soil drainage, which makes the wine full of fragrant, mineral flavors and excellent taste.
Winemaker Paul Mooney
Mingsheng Manor Series
Coming from the heart of New Zealand, the outstanding Minsant Estate wines are infused with the passion of the winery, the commitment to quality and the tireless pursuit of winemakers. These have shaped The Manor of Mingsheng into a unique wine with its unique personality and character.
The Minsch Estate collection offers a selection of wines with a more New Zealand flair for customers around the world to choose from: the unique Gem and Collector's Collections with intricate and intense Aromas of French and American Oak Barrels, the Select Collections with excellent body bodies, and the Classic Collections are superbly balanced with fruity aromas and are not cellared in oak barrels, making the entrance particularly fresh.
December 21-23
Shenzhen World Convention and Exhibition Center
INTERWINE SHENZHEN
The 27th China (Shenzhen) International Wine Exhibition
Let China's good wine go to the world
Let the world's good wine enter China