Meet the stars of the show
Lovers of great wine at fabulous prices – get ready – it's time to reveal the New World Wine Awards Top 50 for 2024.
If you’ve ever found yourself staring into the distance of the wine aisle, unsure where to start, or spent valuable shopping time weighing one wine choice against another – this is the wine list for you.
The New World Wine Awards, now in its 22nd year, is just like other great wine competitions, but with two big points of difference. They focus on wines that are $25 or less, proving you don’t have to break the bank to enjoy an award-winning drop, and they make sure these wines are easy to find in New World stores nationwide.
An independent panel of experts puts the entries through their paces on your behalf – first scoring each wine to find the Gold medal winners, and then tasting, and tasting again, to determine the 50 very best wines. A further taste-off sees the stars of the show – the Champion wines of each variety – take centre stage.
All you have to do is look out for the shiny, gold stickers in your local New World’s wine aisle and ask yourself – Red? White? Sparkling? Or Rosé?
So, what really goes into the judging process?
Judge Jen
Respected winemaker Jen Parr led the team of professional judges in their search for Gold. As chair of judges, Jen focuses on the Awards' integrity and finding the best for wine-lovers. “We score wines on technical excellence, but we also look for the x-factor – the wines you’d be really excited to recommend to a friend or share as your price-savvy pick at a dinner party,” she says. “The calibre of wines we award are proof you don’t need a Champagne budget to enjoy a great, Gold medal wine.”
While there’s no doubt the thought of a few days tasting wine sounds like fun, the judges take their jobs very seriously, and it turns out a lot of mahi happens behind the scenes to find the winners.
- Two days of set up, with a team of 50 sorting 20+ pallets of wine, glasses and other equipment.
- Three days of judging to get through 1280+ entries.
- 26 wine professionals tasting around 100 wines each per day.
- Judges aren’t allowed to wear fragrance, eat garlicky or spicy foods, or bring coffee into the judging room!
- Judging is ‘blind’ – this means no judge will see a label or even a wine bottle, just the wine in a glass.
- The judging process is repeated again and again to ensure only the best wines make the cut.
- A Gold medal wine will be tasted at least 19 times by 11 different judges, and a Champion wine tasted a whopping 36 times or more!
This year’s big winners
To help make your next wine pick even easier, we’ve put the 10 Champion winning wines – the top-ranked wines from each variety – centre stage below.
You can check out the full New World Wine Awards Top 50 list here.
The Overall Champions
Each year one red and one white wine are the ultimate winners – being named the Champion Red Wine and White Wine of the Show.
This year, in a rare and impressive result, both come from the same winery – the Church Road Chardonnay 2023 and Church Road Syrah 2021.
Whether you’re new to chardonnay or it’s a firm favourite, you’ll love the Church Road Chardonnay 2023’s lovely oak lift and delicious stone fruit flavours. This year’s White Wine of the Show is a modern take on classic, old-school chardonnay that would partner perfectly with roast chicken. A splash of this wine whisked into the gravy would give it a boujee edge if you can bear to spare a drop!
The Red Wine of the Show, also from Church Road, is its 2021 Syrah. One sip of this crowd pleasing syrah reveals its dark and full body, fruit-forward with a rich mouthfeel and fabulous tannins. It’s weighty enough to stand up to a generous cut of red meat, ideally cooked low and slow over the campfire, or in the oven for a relaxed Sunday roast.
It’s deeply gratifying to Church Road’s chief winemaker Chris Scott that his wine has won top honours. Cyclone Gabrielle decimated Chris’ much-loved Hawke’s Bay last year and he describes trying to get the grapes in at harvest time amid the devastation as “the most challenging he has ever experienced”.
Chris, who began his career at Church Road as a cellar hand in 1998 while studying wine science, feels this win is reflective of just how well chardonnay can grow in Hawke’s Bay, even despite extreme circumstances.
Overall Champions + Food Pairings
Church Road Chardonnay 2023
Delicious with Garlic and honey butter roast chicken.
Church Road Syrah 2021
Try it with Carrot cake cheesecake.
Champion Bubbles
Lindauer Special Reserve Rosé NV
Lindauer is a sparkling wine superstar. It’s one of Aotearoa’s most well-known wine brands, and one of the country’s most award-winning wines.
The iconic brand is recognised consistently in local and international competitions, including the New World Wine Awards, and 2024 is no exception. This is the third time in just five years that the Lindauer Special Reserve Rosé NV has nabbed a Top 50 spot, and its second time as the Champion Sparkling wine.
This pink sparkler is crafted as a blend of pinot noir and chardonnay, with a touch of pinotage, which adds the delicate pink colour. Beautiful aromas of berries and red apple combine with a great creamy texture.
Lindauer winemaker Jane De Witt, who nurtured this wine through its two year-plus journey from vine to shelf, recommends enjoying it “not just as an aperitif, but with food”. One Kiwi classic surely deserves another, and this sparkling rosé served with fish and chips would be simply delish, as the bubbles provide the ideal palate cleanser between each scrumptious fatty, salty bite.
Enjoy it with Mini smoked salmon rosettes with creamy dill.
Champion Sauvignon Blanc
Triplebank
Awatere Valley
Sauvignon Blanc 2024
We Kiwis love our sauv blanc. With more sauvignon entries vying for a win than in any other category in the competition, it makes winning the Champion title all the more significant for the team behind the Triplebank Awatere Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2024.
This wine was in the Top 50 in 2023, but this year went on to secure the overall win across all the Sauvignons. The judges were wowed by the energy of the wine, reflecting its sense of place in Marlborough’s Awatere Valley with vibrant fruit. This is a fantastic food wine that is begging for summer bites like grilled prawns, salmon, or salads with fresh herbs.
Try it with Couscous tabbouleh salad.
Champion Aromatic
Tohu SV Whenua Matua
Albariño 2021
Nelson is the home of the Aromatic Champion, Tohu’s Whenua Matua Albariño 2021, hailing from a single vineyard in the Upper Moutere.
This award-winning albariño is exciting news for those who love dry white wines with a zesty, zingy spring in their step. A popular variety at home in Spain and Portugal, adventurous winemakers like Tohu are giving it a go in Aotearoa and succeeding with mouthwatering examples like this one. It’s fresh with bright citrus and florals, and a touch of brininess which will hopefully be reminiscent of a sun-filled day on the Spanish coast.
A perfect match with Seafood paella.
Champion Pinot Gris
Thornbury Waipara
Pinot Gris 2024
The popularity of pinot gris shows no sign of slowing down and this year’s Champion is Thornbury Waipara Pinot Gris 2024. Quintessentially Kiwi pinot gris, this winning wine is made from grapes from Waipara in North Canterbury. The vineyards are north-facing and sloping, which traps in the sunshine and gives the grapes a delicious intensity of flavour.
Expect everything you love about gris: aromas of poached pear and white blossoms are here alongside wonderful concentration of rich fruit flavours and just a hint of sweetness. Roast pork or plump pork sausages and mash will go great or switch it up with a simple but sensational cheese toastie.
Tasty paired with Bacon mac and cheese toasties.
Champion Rosé
Te Kano Life
Rosé 2023
This year’s Champion Rosé comes from the home of pinot noir in New Zealand – Central Otago.
The Te Kano Life Rosé 2023 is the perfect pale peach colour that is so popular right now. Rose petal and strawberry aromas abound in this dry and elegant drop, complete with a vibrant finish. The quality of rosé has risen significantly in recent years and now it is considered a more serious – but hopefully not too serious wine – now more often enjoyed with food. Chicken tacos or a watermelon and feta salad would make this rosé sing.
Fabulous with Smashed dumpling tacos.
Champion Pinot Noir
Luna Estate
Pinot Noir 2022
Lovers of red wine are well catered for with New World’s winning reds. As well as the Church Road Syrah there are other Champion reds from both home and abroad. The Champion Pinot Noir is homegrown from the Martinborough subregion of the Wairarapa, a boutique wine region near Wellington renowned for its quality pinot noir.
This Luna Estate Pinot Noir was in the Top 50 last year too, but this 2022 vintage now takes the crown. Its savoury, spicy profile, a hallmark of fine Wairarapa pinot, represents tremendous value for money. Pair this with a mushroom and salami pizza for the ultimate night in, binge-watching your favourite show.
Pair it with Creamy coffee cake.
Champion Reds
Around 40 per cent of New World Wine Award entries came from overseas – an exciting prospect for those that like to explore new tastes. The Champion Red Blend hails from South Australia. Yalumba Samuel’s Collection Barossa Shiraz Cabernet 2021 is richly fruited and intensely aromatic with an elegant structure.
Deep and dark, this wine doesn’t deserve to be relegated to the winter months. Treat yourself to some juicy steaks and turn up the heat on the barbecue to get that chargrilled goodness that will be the perfect pairing with this robust red.
A champion match with Shawarma-inspired roast lamb.
A now consecutive champion two years in a row, the Trapiche Pure Black Malbec 2022 from Argentina is bold and concentrated, with lots of fruit intensity and drinkable sweet fruit flavours. It pairs beautifully with roast lamb, particularly those yummy, charred edges everyone wants to grab from the pan.
Both of these overseas wines are ideal for those who would like to experiment with cellaring and seeing how wines age, as both of these tannic reds will only get better with time.
Try it with Caramelised onion tart with steak.
Cheers to the Top 50
Rosé and Bubbles
Winners
Red Wine
Winners
White Wine
Winners
Whether you’re a tried and true fan of a particular variety or you’re keen to expand your wine repertoire, browsing the aisles at New World and choosing one of the New World Wine Awards Top 50 is a sure way to discover delicious wines that offer exceptional value. Just reach for a bottle with the little Gold sticker. All that’s left to do then is open and enjoy alongside good food and friends. Cheers!
For more information on this year’s delicious, award-winning Top 50 wines at New World, visit newworld.co.nz
Built with Shorthand