25 Chefs Have Been Recruited For The Cloudy Bay Pinot & Duck Tasting Trail

In tandem with the start of duck hunting season, Marlborough winery Cloudy Bay are lining all their grapes in a row to collaborate with 25 of the country's best chefs for a seasonal food and drink match.

Now in its sixth year, the Pinot & Duck Tasting Trail will, as the name suggests, see participating restaurants throughout Auckland, Tauranga, Taupo, Wellington and Queenstown offer signature duck dishes to complement the winery's 2013 Pinot Noir or the 2011 Te Wahi Central Otago Pinot Noir - two varietals that Estate Director Ian Morden describe as having the right acidity levels to match the gamey attributes of the waterfowl.

Participating Auckland restaurants include: Oyster & Chop, The Pullman Hotel, Monsoon Poon, Vivace, The Grove, Baduzzi, NSP, Sails Restaurant, Harbourside, White + Wong's, Botswana Butchery and Bellini.

Dishes to keep your eye out for include the smoked duck breast with radicchio, endive, baby spinach, raspberry vincotto and truffle salt from NSP's Antonio Crisci and Vincenzo Carbone; Chinese roasted duck with plum and mandarin sauces from Stuart Rogan of White + Wong's, and Kiwiana duck with silver beet and blackberries from Darren Lim of Oyster & Chop.

Cloudy Bay's Pinot & Duck Tasting Trail takes place from May 1 - 31.

Photos by Florence Noble