New Year Honours: Wine writer honoured

Michael Cooper is New Zealand's most acclaimed wine writer, with 16 books, hundreds of magazine articles, and four prestigious literary awards to his credit.

Now he can add Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services as a wine writer, to his impressive list of accolades.

Mr Cooper has been a fulltime wine writer since 1990.

He is also a senior wine judge.

He won the 2003 Montana Medal for non-fiction for his Wine Atlas of New Zealand.