Best of Central Otago Pinot Noir once again celebrated in style at annual festival

(CAPTION:  Central Otago Pinot Noir Masterclass - Coming Of Age.)

Queenstown will play host to wine lovers and connoisseurs from around the world as local winemakers gather to celebrate the region’s acclaimed Pinot Noir wine during the Central Otago Pinot Noir Celebration.

Held January 29-31 2015, the event is in its 11th year and has established itself as one of the pre-eminent Pinot Noir festivals in the world.

The celebration takes people on a sensory experience over two and a half days filled with wine appreciation, exquisitely prepared cuisine and magical locations. Pinot Noir is the inspiration for the Celebration, but it’s the people behind the wine that make it the international marvel that it has become.

Open to anyone with an interest in wine and food, the Celebration will include tastings of local Pinot Noir at a ‘Master Class’ and ‘Grand Tasting’ as well as a formal tasting of international Pinot Noir.

Enjoying the very best of local wine, produce and cuisine will also be the focus of the Celebration lunches and dinners which take place at the vineyards and Queenstown’s top restaurants, enabling wine lovers to embrace the local area and sample everything it has to offer.

All the events are hosted by the gregarious winemakers and Central Otago wine community that make the Celebration the success it is.

Chairperson for the 2015 Central Otago Pinot Noir Celebration John Wallace said he “can’t wait” for the festivities to start.

“Right now we’re busy planning and hope to build on the very successful 10th anniversary Celebration of this year. Each year we raise the bar for this event. It’s now by far the best ‘Pinot party’ in this part of the world and I think the best wine event held in New Zealand,” said Mr Wallace.

“The local wine community look forward to hosting the Celebration. It’s a must-do for anyone who wants to immerse themselves in our stunning region, our wine and to meet the people. Whether they’re a wine appreciator, wine professional or wine writer, we want to show them our unique part of the world.”

“This year we’re excited to have new Central Otago wineries joining us so the event will be starting another chapter with new wines and characters.”

Award-winning US writer Lauren Mowery said of the 2014 Celebration: “Despite the stunning backdrop and fare, most attendees joined the celebration for one reason, their devotion to Pinot Noir. In Central Otago, Pinot especially is beauty in pure form.”

“Through a colourful spectrum of hues from vivid ruby to gentle garnet in mature vintages to nose and palate tendering floral notes, the garrigue of local, rampant growths of thyme, warm spices, and red and dark fruits, washed forward in waves of silk and velvet,” she said.

Register Now
The 2015 Central Otago Pinot Noir Celebration is now open for registration. The 2014 Celebration was sold out three months prior to the event so book now to avoid disappointment. For more information visit www.pinotcelebration.co.nz. Details of the lunch and dinner events will be released in the coming months.


Olly Smith, Nick Mills and Pablo Chevrot, Pinot Celebration 2014.


Guests mingle at Jacks Point.


Winery luncheon in the vines.


About the Central Otago Pinot Celebration
The Central Otago Pinot Celebration has been running since 2000, when a group of committed Central Otago producers identified an opportunity to provide a world class Pinot Noir event in New Zealand, following in the footsteps of other renowned Pinot Noir producing regions around the world.

The event takes place every two consecutive years, with every third year consigned to the Pinot Noir NZ in Wellington. The Central Otago Pinot Celebration has established itself as one of New Zealand’s premier wine events and its vision is to bring together the wine world’s leading writers and commentators, together with wine and food enthusiasts to experience Central Otago’s best wine, cuisine and sights.

2015 Featured Wineries
Akarua, Amisfield, Aurum, Burn Cottage Vineyard, Carrick, Ceres, Chard Farm, Doctors Flat Vineyard, Ellero, Felton Road, Folding Hill, Gibbston Valley Wines, Grasshopper Rock, Hawkshead, Kalex Wines, Maude, Misha’s Vineyard, Mount Edward, Mt Difficulty, Mud House, Nanny Goat, Nevis Bluff, Peregrine, Pisa Range Estate, Prophets Rock, Quartz Reef, Rippon, Rockburn, Surveyor Thomson, Tarras, Terra Sancta, Valli Vineyard, Wild Earth Wines & Wooing Tree.