Tonight is the night for the region's winemakers who are testing themselves against their peers at the 16th annual Hawke's Bay A & P Bayleys Wine Awards.
Nearly 400 entries encompassing a wide range of grape varieties and wine styles were presented for an 11-strong judging panel this year at the country's oldest regional wine awards competition.
The line-up of leading New Zealand and international wine writers and winemakers spent three days at the EIT's wine and viticulture centre late last month judging the entries to select the recipients among nine major awards, 15 category awards, and the Doug Wiser Memorial Trophy.
Chief judge Warren Gibson said the event was above all a celebration of Hawke's Bay's wine industry, whether people won awards or not.
Entries were accepted from wineries with wine made from 85 per cent Hawke's Bay grapes, and more than 90 per cent of the region's wineries, including multinational wine makers with vineyards in and out of Hawke's Bay, entered the competition.