Lynda van Kempen

Next crop of top wines: Hinton Estate Vineyard winemaker Howie Hinton was delighted to hear recently that Hinton’s 2006 pinot noir had won a gold medal in the International Wine Challenge. An Alexandra wine producer has gained recognition on the international stage, winning a gold medal in one of the world's largest wine competitions. More than 9000 wines were entered in the 2008 International Wine Challenge, which is based in England, and Hinton Estate Vineyard scored a gold with its 2006 Pinot Noir.

It was almost a clean sweep to Central Otago in the series of representative rugby matches played at Alexandra on Monday. The highlight of the day was the annual Topp Cup match between Central and Southern, with Central the victor for the second successive year.

A group of 16 Alexandra kayakers will take part in the national secondary schools kayaking championships, on the Tarawera River, starting on March 17. Manager Mark Johnson said the squad was made up of 13 Dunstan High School pupils and three from Alexandra Primary School. Much of the team had been training throughout the year.