Villa Maria Cellar Selection Pinot Gris

It seems pretty fitting that Villa Maria decided to put their Cellar Selection range behind a Gold label – being NZ’s most awarded winery they’ve won a Gold or few in their time.

This is their latest 2024 release and, well, wouldn’t ya know…it’s Gold again baby! Well, actually it’s 5 Stars in Cuisine’s annual Pinot Gris tasting in 2025 but that’s a gold medal score. In fact not only did it take top marks in that tasting it also got selected as a “Best Buy” (meaning it offers that extra bang for your buck) and was selected in the Top 10 NZ Pinot Gris!

The judges said “A powerhouse pinot gris with ripe stonefruit and a generous aromatic profile. The palate is robust with lots of ripe fruit flavours, spice, just the right amount of sweetness and a fantastic texture.”

Made in what they call an “off-dry” style Gris. That means there’s heaps of lush stone fruit flavours, it’s got a touch of sweetness but has a dry finish. This is a style of white that goes great with spicy Asian cuisine!