Record Numbers for Latest Webinar
We had a record number of registrations for our latest Intel & Insights Webinar, 'Focus on the New Zealand Market', undelining just how important clear, data-led insights are for the sector. Recognising that the past 12 months have been a particularly tough trading environment, the webinar grounded discussion in evidence, while acknowledging that scan data represents only one part of the picture. The session reinforced the view that while conditions are challenging, there are still areas of resilience and opportunity within the category.
The webinar brought together the latest New Zealand Winegrowers Brand Health Tracking results from IWSR, and retail sales data from NielsenIQ, providing a comprehensive view of the domestic market - from consumer perceptions and brand health through to purchasing behaviour in retail channels. We explored how New Zealand wine is currently perceived by regular and premium consumers, shifts in attitudes and purchase intent, early signals of changing consumption patterns, and how wine is performing across categories and price points in retail.
With three waves of brand health tracking now completed, the webinar highlighted emerging trends to watch, including the growing importance of sustainability cues, evolving expectations from consumers, and the need to think beyond traditional drinking occasions as wine competes in an increasingly complex beverage landscape. The session reinforced NZW's commitment to making it easier for members to stay informed with relevant, digestible intelligence during a busy and demanding period.
Visit our website to view upcomikng Intel & Insights webinars: nzwine.com/members/brand/webinars/
Wine Paris
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Wine Paris. Photo Credit: Andrew Wheeler |
NZW attended Wine Paris for the first time in February, and it proved to be a very successful show for the producers who came together to promote New Zealand wines. The New Zealand Pavilion was a hive of activity with meetings and tastings, as important buyers and trade gathered from across the globe to explore and learn about New Zealand wines. There were more than 70 New Zealand wineries represented at the event, pouring around 400 wines, making it a great opportunity to promote New Zealand quality and premium positioning. In particular, NZW was delighted to welcome Her Excellency Joanna Kempers, New Zealand's Ambassador to France, in the second day of her new role, as well as Director General of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine, Dr John Barker. Despite the challenges our global industry faces, there were many positive reports on the buoyancy of business conversations about the expo, and participating members were happy they chose to invest to attend.
Rosé Day
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New Zealand Rosé Day, held on 5 February, delivered a strong year-on-year performance, with a 25% increase in toolkit downloads compared with 2025. Engagement with Rosé Day content across NZW social channels also increased, with campaign posts outperforming business-as-usual content by 32%. These results reflect both the continued growth of Rosé in New Zealand over the past decade and the role of coordinated industry activity in supporting that momentum. Participation from members was evident across all New Zealand wine regions, highlighting broad uptake of the toolkit provided.
Susie & Peter 'Wines of the Year'
NZW was delighted to support husband and wife MW duo Susie Barrie and Peter Richards as they launched their inaugural New Zealand Wines of the Year initiative in February. Over 200 wines were submitted and it took three days of extremely rigorous tasting in the New Zealand High Commission to whittle down to just over 100. Only wines scoring 93/100 and above made the grade. The results have been released in a 50-page report, packed full of opinion and information, which is free to download on their website. Accompanying the report was an entertaining podcast on their award-winning Wine Blast Channel. To quote them: "There's never been a more compelling time to dive into Kiwi wine - tune in to find out why." NZW will host an event to showcase this selection in April.
susieandpeter.com/new-zealand-wines-of-the-year-2026-report
