New Zealand Wine of the Year Awards 2018 – Top Trophies

The top trophy awards for the inaugural New Zealand Wine of the Year Awards were announced at the awards dinner held in Wellington tonight. The Champion Trophy went to the Maude Central Otago Pinot Noir 2017. This wine also took two other trophies, these being the Champion Pinot Noir Trophy and Best Central Otago Wine Trophy, these trophies announced on 24 October.

The N.Z. Wine of the Year Awards has combined the former Air N.Z. Wine Awards and Bragato Wine Awards as the premier wine judging competition for New Zealand Winegrowers. The top eight trophy awards announced tonight are in support of the directions, initiatives and drivers that are deemed important if not vital for the progress of the New Zealand wine industry. For a list of the 77 gold medals awarded, click here. For the 13 Varietal and 7 Regional trophies, click here. Full results can be seen at www.nzwine.com

Following are the top eight trophies for the 2018 N.Z. Wine of the Year Awards:

Best Organic White Wine
Carrick Bannockburn Riesling Central Otago 2017

Best Organic Red Wine
Carrick Bannockburn Pinot Noir Central Otago 2015

Best Single Vineyard White Wine
Isabel Estate Wild Barrique Chardonnay Marlborough 2017

JF Hillebrand New Zealand Best Single Vineyard Red Wine
Craggy Range Pinot Noir Te Muna Road Vineyard Martinborough 2016

Label and Litho Limited Best Open White Wine
Dashwood Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2018

QuayConnect Best Open Red Wine
Waipara Hills Pinot Noir Rosé Waipara Valley 2018

Best Wine of Provenance
Auntsfield Cob Cottage Chardonnay 2016, 2010, 2006

New Zealand Wine of the Year™ Champion Sponsored by O-I New Zealand
Maude Pinot Noir Central Otago 2017

Three new New Zealand Winegrowers Fellows were inducted at the awards dinner. They were Mark Nobilo, Jane Hunter and Ivan Sutherland. Following is the list of Fellows to date, the first group under the Wine Institute of New Zealand, then under New Zealand Winegrowers:

Wine Institute of New Zealand Fellows
1982: Alex Corban, George Mazuran, Tom McDonald, Bob Sokolich
1987: Mate Brajkovich
1988: Peter Fredatovich
1990 Mate Selak
1991: Joe Corban
1992: Frank Yukich
1993: Jock Graham
1994: Bob Knappstein
1995: Peter Babich
1996: Terry Dunleavy
1997: Don Maisey
1998: Tony Soljan
1999: John Buck
2003: Kerry Hitchcock

New Zealand Winegrowers
2006: Reid Fletcher, Ross Spence
2008: Tim Finn, John Webber
2012: Robin Dicey
2013: Sir George Fistonich, Stuart Smith
2014: Richard Riddiford, Agnes Seifried, Hermann Seifried
2015: Alan Brady, Kate Radburnd, Mike Trought
2016: Larry McKenna
2017: Joe Babich, Lorraine Rudelj, Bill Spence, Geoff Thorpe
2018: Mark Nobilo, Jane Hunter, Ivan Sutherland

Recognition was also afforded to up-and-coming young achievers, who represent the new generation of industry leaders. They were Annabel Bulk, Young Viticulturist of the Year, and Greg Lane. Young Winemaker of the Year. Katherine Bruce and Kristopher Godsall were the top students from the New Zealand School of Winegrowing.