Over the past few issues Peter Saunders has looked at the history of the New Zealand wine industry, decade by decade. This month, he takes a closer look at where we currently sit and what the future holds.

As chairman of the Gimblett Gravels Winegrowers Association for the next two years, Gordon Russell expects to preside over some of the sub-region’s most significant developments.

What is a Vinotype? Joelle Thomson asks the founder of this system of categorizing the human palate, Master of Wine Tim Hanni.

Cellar door season is in full swing, and the summer season brings wine tasters into the regions in hordes. Now is a better time than ever to take advice from expert operators on facilitating the ideal cellar door experience, and bring it to your own cellar door. 

The stylistic finesse of New Zealand wines has impressed one of the guest judges at this year’s Air New Zealand Wine Awards.

The Air New Zealand Wine Awards are now over, the best wines acknowledged and the medals and trophies handed out. As Chair of Judges, Michael Brajkovich MW, acknowledges in his report, the quality across a wide range of varietals was a highlight.

Back in 1985, a young Kevin Judd issued winemaking instructions for the first Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc over the phone. The wine, made from Marlborough fruit was produced in Gisborne, Kevin was based in Auckland. How things have changed.

Sitting down to talk with Nick Mills, you could empathise with him if his eyes glazed over at the thought of sharing his family history for the umpteenth time...but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

This competition began 12 years ago, although it was then called the “Tri-Nations Wine Competition” with wines from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Chile and Argentina were added to the list a few years ago with the US joining last year.

The Chinese wine industry has been in the spotlight over the last 12 months with talk of plummeting sales amid President Xi Jinping’s anti-graft crackdown. But China still remains an important market for New Zealand wine producers.