KEY POINTS:
The Air New Zealand Wine Awards have attracted a strong entry of new varietals such as pinot gris, syrah and viognier.
This year there were 1558 entries from 10 of the country's wine-growing regions.
Chris Yorke of New Zealand Winegrowers said chardonnay and sauvignon blanc had 273 entries each and pinot noir had 240. He said Marlborough once again topped the entries with 579 wines.
