HOW SWEET IT IS

MARY-THERESE BLAIR finds a French wine topping the sweet stakes .

WHEN IT COMES to sweet wines it’s widely agreed that sauternes from the subregion of the same name in Bordeaux represents the global gold standard. No surprise then that the inclusion of international wines in this category saw a sauternes storm to the top. It truly was a cut above the rest and the decision to reward it with the top spot was unanimous. While the sweet wines line up included some good local examples, the judges felt that they had to search that bit harder for the great examples from New Zealand rather than the wines making themselves known. Perhaps it’s the Kiwi personality – not to be too showy or proud – coming through in our sweet wines? That said, some outstanding local examples did reveal themselves to our panel. Better yet, all of the top three sweet wines are ‘Best Buy’ wines, which makes them perfect additions to your Christmas shopping list.