Church Road launches Gwen Chardonnay
Just in time for the warmer months, Church Road recently extended its Gwen range, introducing a refreshing and crisp Chardonnay. With a demand for lighter, refreshing wines amongst New Zealanders this summer, Gwen Chardonnay delivers an elegant and refined style of wine making, perfect for those long summer lunches.
The Gwen Chardonnay joins an existing Rose and Pinot Gris, and was hand-harvested earlier than the rest, with the aim of creating a dry and moderate-alcohol wine (12.5%), joining the Gwen family as a new hallmark of the Kiwi summer.
Florence Gwendolen Brown, or “Gwen”, was the wife of the legendary Hawke’s Bay award-winning wine maker Tom McDonald, and is the namesake for the range of wines.
“Named in honour of the wife of famous winemaker and pioneer, Tom McDonald, the Gwen Chardonnay explores an elegant and refined style of wine making. Our desire is for the Gwen range to be the wine of choice to complement occasions and festivities no matter how big or small,” says Chief Winemaker Chris Scott, who was recently awarded the New Zealand Winemaker of the Year by Winestate Magazine for the third time.
“Our job as winemakers is to simply showcase the versatilities of wine making. Gwen Chardonnay bursts with subtle stone-fruit and floral notes with fresh acidity and a mineral edge. It is a sophisticated drink that will work well as an aperitif or as a versatile food wine,” says Scott.
To celebrate the release of the latest Gwen wines, Church Rd is hosting a series of three long lunches across the country in Auckland (Azabu), Christchurch (Dux Dine) and Queenstown (Boardwalk).
Gwen McDonald, the wine’s namesake, was the wife of Church Rd founding winemaker Tom McDonald, and has played an immeasurable part in the history of Church Road. A woman with a trailblazing spirit and driving force of community, Gwen did things her way.
At each event, guests will enjoy a conversation between two similarly trailblazing women, Shit You Should Care About (SYSCA) Founder, Lucy Blakiston and Libby Rainger from the Wellness Platform. During this conversation, Lucy and Libby will explore how the three women behind SYSCA have challenged the status quo and shaken up the popular culture of today through their online platform, which is now a global phenomenon with 3.5 million followers.
As well as the insightful not-to-be-missed conversation championing female empowerment and exploring modern culture, guests will enjoy a premium three-course lunch paired with Gwen wines.
The events have been postponed
At Church Road, the health and safety of our staff, partners and customers is the most important thing to us. In light of the recent rise in daily cases of COVID-19, we have decided to postpone our upcoming long lunch series, "Summer of Gwen in conversation with Shit You Should Care About." We will look to confirm new dates later in the year for these long lunch events to take place, and thank you in advance for your understanding. We look forward to long lunching with you later on this year!
