Standard high as awards get under way

Judging got underway yesterday for the Hawke’s Bay A&P Bayleys Wine Awards – the oldest regional wine competition in New Zealand. Senior judge Rod Easthope said that, after a bit of a lull, the wine industry was experiencing an upward trend. “We had 410 entries this year, which is our third highest number ever,” Mr Easthope said. He said that when he tasted a wine he imagined it being served in a New York restaurant and whether it would sit alongside the best wines in the world.