Following three days of judging over 1300 wines, 78 gold medal wines have been announced in the inaugural New Zealand Wine of the Year Awards.
The larger areas of Marlborough, Hawke’s Bay and Central Otago took out the lion’s share of the awards, but golds were also given to Gisborne, Wellington, Nelson, Canterbury and North Otago.
Chair of the New Zealand Wine of the Year Awards Warren Gibson says he is very pleased to see a spread of gold medals throughout the majority of the New Zealand’s wine regions.
“The gold medal list shows that our maturing and evolving wine industry begins to display a very strong relationship between variety, style and wine region. This link appears far more dramatic than in past awards and suggests we are beginning to find a true sense of place,” he says.
Marlborough dominated the Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Sparkling and aromatics classes. Central Otago similarly was prominent in Riesling and Pinot Noir, as has been the recent norm. Chardonnay was shared between Hawke’s Bay and Marlborough and the full-bodied red classes were very strong and as expected, dominated by Hawke’s Bay.
“The average quality of the wines was very high, particularly considering the recent challenging vintages in a number of regions”, says Gibson.
In addition to the 78 gold medals, 236 silver medals and 601 bronze medals were awarded by a team of 29 judges. There was a total of 915 medals awarded across 16 classes, including the newly introduced Provenance Class, in which wines were judged over three vintages.
The 78 gold medal winning wines are now vying for the 13 varietal trophies and 11 regional trophies with the winners of these trophies to be announced on Wednesday 24 October.
The final act will be the awarding of the eight major trophies for the New Zealand Wine of the Year Awards. These will be announced at the New Zealand Wine Awards dinner on Saturday 3 November and include; New Zealand Wine of the Year Champion, Best Single Vineyard White Wine, Best Single Vineyard Red Wine, Best Open White Wine, Best Open Red Wine, Best Organic White Wine, Best Organic Red Wine and Best Wine of Provenance.
The New Zealand Wine of the Year Awards is the official national wine competition of the New Zealand wine industry, replacing the Air New Zealand Wine Awards and the Bragato Wine Awards, two of the industry’s major wine competitions.
The gold medal wines for 2018 are:
Huia Traditional Method Blanc de Blancs Marlborough 2011
Daniel Le Brun Méthode Traditionnelle Blanc de Blancs Marlborough 2011
Nautilus Cuvée Méthode Traditionnelle Marlborough NV
Lawson’s Dry Hills Gewürztraminer Marlborough 2016
Bladen ‘Tilly Vineyard’ Gewürztraminer Marlborough 2018
Lawson’s Dry Hills The Pioneer Gewürztraminer Marlborough 2016
Brancott Estate Sauvignon Gris Marlborough 2018
Marisco Craft Series The Exemplar Viognier Marlborough 2013
Misty Cove Wines Landmark Series Grüner Veltliner Marlborough 2018
Saint Clair Pioneer Block 5 Bull Block Grüner Veltliner Marlborough 2015
Esk Valley Pinot Gris Hawke’s Bay 2018
Summerhouse Pinot Gris Marlborough 2018
Russian Jack Pinot Gris Marlborough 2018
Ngatarawa Stables Pinot Gris Marlborough 2018
Misty Cove Wines Pinot Gris Marlborough 2018
Lawson’s Dry Hills Reserve Pinot Gris Marlborough 2018
Villa Maria Single Vineyard Seddon Pinot Gris Marlborough 2017
Starborough ‘Family Estate’ Pinot Gris Marlborough 2017
Stoneleigh Wild Valley Pinot Gris Marlborough 2018
Wither Hills Riesling Marlborough 2018
Maude Mt Maude Vineyard Dry Riesling Central Otago 2018
Two Rivers Juliet Riesling Marlborough 2018
Carrick Bannockburn Riesling Central Otago 2017
Rockburn Tigermoth Riesling Central Otago 2015
Vidal Reserve Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2018
Dashwood Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2018
Brancott Estate Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2018
Rapaura Springs Reserve Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2018
Gunn Estate Reserve Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2018
Blind River Awatere Valley Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2018
Villa Maria Reserve Sauvignon Blanc Wairau Valley, Marlborough 2018
Yealands Estate Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Awatere Valley, Marlborough 2018
Opawa Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2018
Wairau River Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2018
Giesen The Fuder Matthews Lane Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2015
Marisco Craft Series ‘Pride & Glory’ Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2013
Isabel Estate Wild Barrique Chardonnay Marlborough 2017
Whitehaven Chardonnay Marlborough 2017
Two Rivers Clos des Pierres Chardonnay Marlborough 2017
Villa Maria Reserve Chardonnay Marlborough 2017
Villa Maria Reserve Chardonnay Hawke’s Bay 2017
Villa Maria Single Vineyard Keltern Chardonnay Hawke’s Bay 2017
Villa Maria Reserve Barrique Fermented Chardonnay Gisborne 2016
Villa Maria Reserve Chardonnay Hawke’s Bay 2016
Selaks Founders Limited Edition Chardonnay Hawke’s Bay 2016
Marisco Craft Series ‘The Pioneer’ Chardonnay Marlborough 2016
Crossroads Winemakers Collection Chardonnay Hawke’s Bay 2015
Empirical Chardonnay Hawke’s Bay 2015
Wairau River Reserve Botrytised Riesling Marlborough 2017
Auntsfield Busch Block Late Harvest Riesling Southern Valleys, Marlborough 2016
Riverby Estate Noble Riesling Marlborough 2016
Archangel Lace Rosé Central Otago 2018
Waipara Hills Pinot Noir Rosé Waipara Valley 2018
Te Kano Rosé Central Otago 2018
Super Nanny Pinot Noir Central Otago 2017
Hinton Estate Pinot Noir Central Otago 2017
Maude Mt Maude Vineyard Reserve Pinot Noir Central Otago 2017
Maude Pinot Noir Central Otago 2017
Delta Hatter’s Hill Pinot Noir Marlborough 2017
Falcon Ridge Estate Pinot Noir Nelson 2017
Rockburn Pinot Noir Central Otago 2016
Ostler Caroline’s Pinot Noir Waitaki Valley, North Otago 2016
Craggy Range Pinot Noir Te Muna Road Vineyard Martinborough 2016
Carrick Crown & Cross Pinot Noir Central Otago 2016
Carrick Bannockburn Pinot Noir Central Otago 2015
Church Road One Merlot Gimblett Gravels, Hawke’s Bay 2016
Villa Maria Reserve Merlot Hawke’s Bay 2016
Villa Maria Reserve Gimblett Gravels Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Hawke’s Bay 2016
Church Road McDonald Series Cabernet Sauvignon Hawke’s Bay 2015
Villa Maria Reserve Merlot Gimblett Gravels, Hawke’s Bay 2015
Villa Maria Library Release Gimblett Gravels Cabernet Sauvignon Hawke’s Bay 2009
Church Road Grand Reserve Syrah Hawke’s Bay 2016
Church Road McDonald Series Syrah Hawke’s Bay 2016
Villa Maria Reserve Syrah Gimblett Gravels, Hawke’s Bay 2016
Church Road One Syrah Gimblett Gravels, Hawke’s Bay 2016
Esk Valley Winemakers Reserve Gimblett Gravels Syrah Hawke’s Bay 2014
Church Road One Malbec Gimblett Gravels, Hawke’s Bay 2016
Villa Maria Reserve Malbec Gimblett Gravels, Hawke’s Bay 2015
