While I was surfing around the Cuisine magazine site, I discovered they also had a listing of what they consider to be the top five New Zealand Pinot Gris. Since this is one of the few white wines I usually gravitate towards, I had to take a look. They tasted 79 wines (wow) before coming up with this conclusion:

Shining stars of wines, in fact, with typical varietal pear and almond flavours, and with significant weight and finesse. Despite the fact that there weren't more contenders for a Top Ten, it's exciting to see the number of wineries experimenting with the variety. Once we start getting it right, the future, hype or no hype, looks bright indeed.

Cuisine Top Five NZ Pinot Gris

To qualify for Top Five status, wines must be readily available for general purchase. Some wines might rate as high or higher but are hard to find. Wines are listed in order of final scores.

1 Villa Maria Single Vineyard Seddon Pinot Gris 2006
2 Villa Maria Cellar Selection Pinot Gris 2006
3 Stoneleigh Rapaura Series Marlborough Pinot Gris 2006
4 Marsden Estate Pinot Gris 2006
5 Chard Farm Pinot Gris 2006