Trade tastings can be enjoyable affairs. A chance to discover exciting new wines and producers and with the likelihood of bumping into friends and colleagues. Or they can feel terribly claustrophobic with too many people in too small a space and without much natural light.
One thing they often share in common is a poorly produced brochure. Common faults include flimsyness (making it difficult to write on), too much text (leaving little room for tasting notes), and inadequate information about individual wines (abv, residual sugar, etc). Regional information about soils, climate, canopy management and planting trends is rarely included.
So step forward New Zealand Wine. For their recent trade tasting in London which showcased an outstanding selection of wines, they produced a brochure that could usefully form a template for the rest of industry to follow. Each wine had alcohol and sugar contents recorded and the brochure layout included sufficient space for personal tasting notes. Additionally, they included a wealth of background information on climate, soils and clones as well as statistical information on vineyard area and exports.
The brochure can be downloaded as a PDF, and would certainly prove useful for WSET students or anyone interested in New Zealand wine.