If you have a taste for the high life, now's the time to bag a bargain - supermarkets and wine retailers are staging a "champagne war".

Local pinots are not yet exhibiting a sense of place.

Philip Rich will raise his glass up to 400 times this week as he turns his palate to the Air New Zealand Wine Awards.

The analogies between photography and winemaking may be obvious but that doesn’t diminish the fact they are valid.

New Zealand winemakers weren't pleased after one of the world's most respected wine critics, master of wine Jancis Robinson, pooh-poohed the country's pinot noir in a blind tasting.

The English are producing world-class champagnes.

I'm often struck by the snobbery I encounter in our country when it comes to drinks. Talk about how you'd love a nice, cold lager and someone will pipe up and say: "Oh you don't drink that muck do you?

Almost 1600 wines have been entered in this year's Air New Zealand Wine Awards, with close to 40 per cent classed as sustainable.

Actor and vigneron Sam Neill is on record as saying that these days he's more interested in rave reviews for his wine than his big-screen exploits.

Seasoned Wwoofer Venetia Sherson gets more than she bargained for on an olive picking job in the hills of southern Tuscany.

Pernod Ricard New Zealand, the local arm of the French liquor company, has sold a dozen wine brands and some wineries to a Lion Nathan New Zealand-led joint venture for $88 million.

Joelle Thomson offers us a toast to crisp sparkling rieslings.

This year, Marlborough's Cloudy Bay Winery celebrates its 25th anniversary. Viva speaks to winemaker Nick Lane about the rise and rise of New Zealand's wine industry.

We quiz some of New Zealand's best winemakers to find their tipples du jour.

Marlborough-based winemaker and mother-of-two Jules Taylor may well be on to something. Hers is a virtual brand with no assets.

When a champagne house can name Marie Antoinette and Marilyn Monroe as fans, you'd think the brand couldn't get any more glamorous - then they announce a collaboration with shoe designer Christian Louboutin.

Don't restrict yourself to just one colour or style of wine - there are plenty of others which will suit your palate.

Spanish winemaker Telmo Rodriguez has seduced a Kiwi distributor with his ravishing reds.

If wine had a personality, pinot noir's would be strangely alluring while requiring occasional therapy.

My nana loved her occasional sherry. It sat on a highly polished mahogany side table in a splendid crystal decanter, with an elaborate stopper on top.

New Zealand's wine-drinking habits are not far off international trends.

The Lucky Country. Australia. Big, bold and brash, just like her wines. Well, some of them anyway.