It used to be deeply naff, drunk only by teens and maybe your nana; so how did cider get its fizz back to be the drink of the summer, asks Nicky Pellegrino.

The New Zealand pinot noir movement is gathering pace and the great and good of the wine world jetted in from Singapore, Stockholm and San Francisco last week to experience Central Otago's take on the grape.

A group of pilot whales appears to have beached once more on Farewell Spit, at the top of the South Island.

A pod of 66 pilot whales beached west of Nelson yesterday swam off on the high tide overnight, DOC says.

Getting experimental in our vineyards is a risky business, but one that has paid off in the past for our winemakers.

One year on from his disappearance, police have renewed an appeal for information about a 19-year-old Nelson student.

Tropical systems Vania and Zelia will merge as they head for New Zealand from different directions.

The man arrested for allegedly trying to set fire to a campervan with two people in it has been charged with the attempted murder of the pair.

He was playing a game that will be familiar to many from childhood. But when Sam Goodenough's turn came to try to hold his breath the longest underwater, the game turned to tragedy, when the16-year-old blacked out and failed to surface.

A teenager has died after reportedly competing with friends to see who could hold their breath underwater the longest.

A kiteboarder killed in front of his wife in a Christmas holiday tragedy was lifted 20 metres in the air by a gust of wind - and flung to his death more than a kilometre away.

New Year's Day is tipped to offer sunny weather for most of the country and some respite from the recent muggy, humid weather.

A 2-year-old boy has been flown to hospital with head injuries after plunging two metres from a bridge near a remote cafe in Golden Bay.

The wife of a Tahunanui man was present as he crashed after strong gusts lifted him off the ground this afternoon.