All the girls ranked their top three and then I assigned them points. The winner was Megan, and the three runners-up ere the first Katie (with the clam purse), Sue, and Nenuphars. We really liked the seaweedy hairstyle in Katie’s entry but the dress Megan picked was just perfect. I thought it was cute that Nenuphar’s included a bike – Jane has one not dissimilar – but hers is pink. We also liked that Sue and Nenupahrs include sensible but glamorous hats for the Marlborough summer.

Thank you all so much for your beautiful entries, and especial thanks to the very quaffable Durvillea Wines for supplying us with such lovely prizes to give away. We’re raising a glass in your direction, and will be making a special trip out to Thorndon New World so we can stock up and drink you all summer long!

Because Durvillea is a seaweed, we thought it would be great if you came up with an outfit inspired by seaweed. You can assemble a fantasy one on Polyvore, dress yourself up and take a photo, or draw a picture – we don’t mind how you enter as long as you do it! You’ve got until December 12 to get your entry into our comments section. The best submission will be chosen by a panel of experts and will win a mixed half case of lovely Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio. Two other entries will be drawn at random to win a consolation bottle.

To inspire you, here are the Polyvore sets that Amy and I put together. So get creating, because this wine is delicious and I’m tempted to keep it all to myself – but I won’t…

Seaweed by Amy_ featuring ROOTOTE bags

Seaweed and Durvillea by johubris featuring Ghibli bags

You might have met Meg at one of our Pretty Pretty Parties, and tried the Durvillea Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio she so generously brought along for us. I decided it was time to have a chat to her to find out all about her family. Doing that involved drinking more of the sav, which is of course a difficult thing to do on a sunny afternoon with tasty snacks and good company, but for the sake of you dear reader, I suffered through that horror…

Meg’s dad Simon Waghorn has been the winemaker for Astrolabe since 1996, and he decided to build a sister wine to Astrolabe in order to try out new styles. At the same time, Meg’s mother Jane Forrest-Waghorn was looking for a new challenge as her work as a librarian didn’t balance well with the travel demanded as being the partner of a winemaker.

Durvillea is the botanical name for Bull Kelp or Rimurapa which can found along Marlborough’s Coast. Its strong lines, shapes, textures and colours were the inspiration for the wine. I asked Meg why they call it a Pinot Grigio instead of the usual Pinot Gris, and she told me that it reflects that the winemakers aim toward an Italian style Pinot Grigio with a New World twist. It’s a bit leaner, less sweet and fruity. It’s more the northern italian style – there isn’t a huge difference – it’s just to let consumers know what he is trying to create, the direction he is going in. So now you know!

Jane is at the heart of the operation, along with her daughters Meg, Libby,Arabella and their cousin Sophie.

As well as capitalising on the talents of girls raised in the wine industry, this family involvement gives Durvillea an all-important point of difference in the crowded wine market in which wines struggle to get recognised on supermarket shelves. They also have an advantage in that the girls are the same age as the target market for Durvillea wines and its $14 price point (perfect for taking to a BYO dinner).

Meg had been following Epic Beer on Twitter for a while (as have us Pretties, it’s the beer I’m mostly likely to be served at Amy’s house) and was inspired by the way that Luke has used personal interaction to build up his brand. Recognising that her friends – the Durvillea target market – were also on Twitter, she started up an account to go along with the blog about vineyard happenings. Libby set up a Facebook fan page and started encouraging Durvillea fans to send in pictures of themselves drinking the wine. With everyone being based in different places, twitter and the blog are great ways to keep track of exactly what’s going on day to day. Meg says it’s hard to track exactly how many additional sales Durvillea’s social media use is generating, but it has helped create a profile for the wine on google and it helps get new people to try the wine – as you pretties may have experienced for yourself at the last Pretty Pretty Party!

And that brings us nicely to the questions that we always ask everyone we talk to – what they do to make themselves feel good and how they define pretty.. Meg says that in order to make herself feel good she washes her hair every day, has her nails done nicely and takes fish oil supplements which do great things for her nails and skin.”I love dresses particularly 1950′s style summer frocks. Also I asked Mum what pretty meant to her and she said ‘a three year old in the supermarket in a tutu/fairy costume”. Tutus and wine sound like an awesome combination to me!

Now you’re probably wondering how you can get your hands on some Durvillea for yourself. If you’re in Wellington, Thorndon New World is your best bet, or you can order through their website. Or perhaps you could keep your eyes on a certain beauty website for a certain competition that we’ll be running real soon …