The end of the year is fast approaching, so here are some thoughts on a few of the significant developments during 2025 to wrap things up. Times are tough, of course, but there are some positive stories to think about, as well as the challenges.

OPINION: When I moved to Marlborough two decades ago, I found countless lines of tidy vines, neatly mowed and carefully sprayed, with diligent conventional practices interspersed with the odd organic or cover-cropping outlier, like Te Whare Ra.

OPINION: For much of its modern history, New Zealand wine has been defined by its boldness.

Over the past three years or so, the New Zealand Winegrowers Board has consulted with members on proposals to reform NZW with the simple goal of ensuring the future organisation is fit for purpose.

OPINION: New Zealand is the "last great bastion standing" when it comes to wine imports to the United States, wine-business analyst Rob McMillan told the New Zealand Wine 2025 Wine Business Forum in August.

OPINION: At the recent Organic and Biodynamic Winegrowing Conference, the Porto Protocol’s Marta Mendonça said, “Grapes are not the thirstiest of crops, but they are a luxury crop”.

OPINION: Sauvignon Blanc was famously introduced to New Zealand by Ross Spence of Matua Valley, and then serendipitously planted in Marlborough by Frank Yukich and Montana Wines in 1975.

OPINION: As New Zealand's wine industry grapples with figurative dark clouds (and literal for some wine regions of late) this edition lingers instead around the silver edges.

OPINION: An article caught my eye recently, claiming that millennials are increasingly turning to handmade, artisanal products.

With the stars of Matariki to rise in June, Jeff Sinnott, a member of the Tuku Māori Winemakers Collective, looks at their relevance to our grape and wine community.