New Zealand Wine of the Year Awards 2018 – Varietal and Regional Trophies

New Zealand Winegrowers have released the Varietal and Regional Trophy winners of the 2018 New Zealand Wine of the Year Awards. This new competition combines the former Air N.Z. Wine Awards and Bragato Wine Awards. The 77 gold medal wines were announced on 17 October, and can be seen in my report by clicking here.

As additional information on the medal results, there were 1351 wines judged in total, an increase over the ANZWA last year. As already noted, this year, there were 77 (5.7%) gold medals awarded, with 236 (17.47%) silver and 601 (44.49%) bronze medals, making a total of 914 (67.65%) wines awarded a medal. The number of golds is a little lower, and combined with the increased number of entries, this indicates a slightly stricter level of judging to reach the gold medal standard. www.nzwine.com

There were 13 Varietal trophies awarded. They are similar to the class or category trophies in the former Air New Zealand Wine Awards. These are listed as follows:

WineWorks Champion Sparkling Wine
Nautilus Cuvée Méthode Traditionnelle Marlborough NV

Riedel New Zealand Champion Gewürztraminer (Nick Nobilo Trophy)
Lawson’s Dry Hills Gewürztraminer Marlborough 2016

Dish Magazine Champion Pinot Gris (Brother Cyprian trophy)
Misty Cove Wines Pinot Gris Marlborough 2018

Plant & Food Research Champion Riesling (Friedrich Wohnsiedler Trophy)
Wither Hills Riesling Marlborough 2018

Antipodes Water Company Champion Sauvignon Blanc (Spence Brothers Trophy)
Blind River Sauvignon Blanc Awatere Valley, Marlborough 2018

Guala Closures Champion Chardonnay (Bill Irwin Trophy)
Marisco Craft Series ‘The Pioneer’ Chardonnay Marlborough 2016

Champion Other White Wine
Misty Cove Wines Landmark Series Grüner Veltliner Marlborough 2018

Champion Sweet Wine
Auntsfield Busch Block Late Harvest Riesling Southern Valleys, Marlborough 2016

New World Champion Rosé
Archangel Lace Rosé Central Otago 2018

Fruitfed Supplies Champion Pinot Noir (Mike Wolter Memorial Trophy)
Maude Pinot Noir Central Otago 2017

Champion Merlot Cabernet and Blends (Tom McDonald Memorial Trophy)
Villa Maria Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Gimblett Gravels, Hawke’s Bay 2016

winejobsonline.com Champion Syrah (Alan Limmer Trophy)
Villa Maria Reserve Syrah Gimblett Gravels, Hawke’s Bay 2016

Champion Other Red Styles
Church Road One Malbec Gimblett Gravels, Hawke’s Bay 2016

There were 7 Regional trophies awarded, for the best wine from different growing regions. This is an acknowledgement of regionality, in the spirit of the Bragato Wine Awards. They are listed as follows:

Best Wine – Gisborne
Villa Maria Reserve Barrique Fermented Chardonnay Gisborne 2016

Best Wine – Hawke’s Bay
Villa Maria Reserve Syrah Gimblett Gravels, Hawke’s Bay 2016

Best Wine – Wellington Wine Country
Craggy Range Pinot Noir Te Muna Road Vineyard Martinborough 2016

Best Wine – Marlborough
Marisco Craft Series ‘The Pioneer’ Chardonnay Marlborough 2016

Best Wine – Nelson
Falcon Ridge Estate Pinot Noir Nelson 2017

Best Wine – Canterbury
Waipara Hills Pinot Noir Rosé Waipara Valley 2018

Best Wine – Central Otago
Maude Pinot Noir Central Otago 2017

The 8 top trophy awards for the 2018 New Zealand Wine of the Year will be announced on Saturday 3 November at the awards dinner to be held in Wellington. These will be the Champion Wine of the Show, Best Single Vineyard White Wine, Best Single Vineyard Red Wine, Best Open White Wine, Best Open Red Wine, Best Organic White Wine, Best Organic Red wine, and Best Wine of Provenance. I will post these results on this website after they are announced.