Displaying items by tag: Villa Maria

Vintage 2018 was a perfect storm for Villa Maria in Hawke’s Bay, with autumn rain forcing harvest, while cellar hands dodged teams of tradespeople.

The wine industry was never Stuart Dudley’s first career choice. The viticulturist for Villa Maria Wines in Marlborough had his mindset on research or forensics, having completed a degree in Genetics and Biochemistry.

After a couple of years when large tracts of New Zealand have been hit by tropical cyclones prior to harvest, 2019 provided a Panadol for grape growers and winemakers throughout the country.

For the first time ever a New Zealand wine brand has been included in the top three Most Admired Wine Brands in the World, taking out the third spot.

For the third time in as many years, Villa Maria has made it onto the Drinks International’s World’s Most Admired Wine Brands list.

New Zealand Chardonnay has failed to make much of a dent on the export market. A group of Gisborne winemakers want to help change that.

Noticing a dearth of wine bloggers in New Zealand, two former Villa Maria employees have taken matters into their own hands.

Villa Maria has appointed Nick Picone as their new chief winemaker, a position that oversees all of the company's winemaking.

Mike Saunders, age 32, is a vineyard manager and grower liaison for Villa Maria.

Earlier this year, Air New Zealand announced changes to its wine procurement arrangements for economy and super economy classes as well as in the company  lounges.