Current All Blacks, rugby's world champions, are not the only ones with smiles on their faces.
John Ashworth is wearing one too, as no doubt are Andy Dalton and Gary Knight who were the other members of the AB's formidable front row in the 1970s-80s -- tough nuts who now decorate the label of a gold medal pinot noir.
But that's only part of the story and the All Blacks connection.
The wine is made by Ashworth's son Leith for what is now a family business that grew out of Dad's discovery of pinot noir during an All Black tour to France.
He reckons it went ''straight to his toes'' and inspired him when he and his wife Jo sold their farm in Canterbury in 1985 to look for a property where they could grow some grapes as well.
Takapau, about an hour south of the main grape-growing area in Hawke's Bay might not have seemed the best choice for some, but Ashworth happily followed the advice of the late Sir Richard Harrison, a former Speaker in the New Zealand Parliament, who had been growing pinot on his property, nearer the Ruahine Range, for a number of years.
Reassured by Villa Maria's interest in the same general area Ashworth planted pinot noir around his home near the junction of two highways on the Takapau Plains and then across road where vineyards have since been developed to grow more pinot, aromatic whites and chardonnay.
The set-up also now includes a rustic cellar door which was last year voted Hawke's Bay's best.
Junction Wines have also achieved a great deal more success (including a number of other gold medals for pinot noir) than many ever thought they would or could and a gold medal at New Zealand's most prestigious wine show certainly confirms that they demand attention.
The gold medal-winning 2014 Possession Pinot Noir (all wines are identified by terms used in rugby) is available . from the cellar door or online. It sells at a very tempting $25 a bottle.
John Ashworth is wearing one too, as no doubt are Andy Dalton and Gary Knight who were the other members of the AB's formidable front row in the 1970s-80s -- tough nuts who now decorate the label of a gold medal pinot noir.
But that's only part of the story and the All Blacks connection.
The wine is made by Ashworth's son Leith for what is now a family business that grew out of Dad's discovery of pinot noir during an All Black tour to France.
He reckons it went ''straight to his toes'' and inspired him when he and his wife Jo sold their farm in Canterbury in 1985 to look for a property where they could grow some grapes as well.
Takapau, about an hour south of the main grape-growing area in Hawke's Bay might not have seemed the best choice for some, but Ashworth happily followed the advice of the late Sir Richard Harrison, a former Speaker in the New Zealand Parliament, who had been growing pinot on his property, nearer the Ruahine Range, for a number of years.
Reassured by Villa Maria's interest in the same general area Ashworth planted pinot noir around his home near the junction of two highways on the Takapau Plains and then across road where vineyards have since been developed to grow more pinot, aromatic whites and chardonnay.
The set-up also now includes a rustic cellar door which was last year voted Hawke's Bay's best.
Junction Wines have also achieved a great deal more success (including a number of other gold medals for pinot noir) than many ever thought they would or could and a gold medal at New Zealand's most prestigious wine show certainly confirms that they demand attention.
The gold medal-winning 2014 Possession Pinot Noir (all wines are identified by terms used in rugby) is available . from the cellar door or online. It sells at a very tempting $25 a bottle.
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