Wines from Waitaki Valley have a sophistication all their own, so why are some of the region's key players calling it quits?

Tonight MasterChef fans will see the remaining eight contestants battle it out in Fiji. Joanne Carroll tagged along to see what happened behind the scenes.

It's not often you get to try a vertical flight of New Zealand pinot noir from a single vineyard from one producer.

Size and shape matter when it comes to wine glasses, making all the difference to your experience of the elixir within.

Two out of three Kiwis do not know what a standard drink is and more than half don't know how much alcohol an average person can process in an hour, a study shows.

Wine editor Jo Burzynska’s guide to the 2013 not-to-be-missed bottles on the market.

Loveblock is the latest creation of that winemaking-cum-clever-marketing power couple, Kim and Erica Crawford.

There's a long history of sensory pleasure in pairing literature with wine.

A warming planet could double the amount of good grape growing land in New Zealand over the next 40 years, a new study shows.

It was bound to happen sooner or later and, frankly, it's come sooner than I would have predicted. New sauvignon blanc at $80 a bottle.

Let your taste buds run free in Hong Kong - a food destination full of surprises.

A cocktail's ingredients can be changed to match or enhance the flavours on the plate, unlike wine, which is already made.

Most wines can be made by following the textbook, a bit like following a recipe when you bake a cake.

New Zealand's wine industry is on the verge of producing a terrific vintage thanks to the long, dry summer.

Would you pay $80 for a bottle of Marlborough sauvignon blanc? Or, indeed, should you?

Mother Nature and state-of-the-art technology bring out the best in the grapes at the new Batch Winery on Waiheke Island.

Viva wine editor Jo Burzynska traverses plains, valleys and rivers on a pinot noir safari in Marlborough.

China is becoming an increasingly important market for New Zealand wine and a group of local firms is hoping to boost sales further by making an appearance the Chengdu Wine Fair.

The Kiwi makers of a sparkling riesling have been ordered to can their "bottled happiness'' advertising slogan after a complaint that alcohol is actually a depressant.

The dry weather is helping Gisborne's grape growers, who are praising the high quality of this year's harvest.

Most of us know what we like and like what we know, and why not?

US businessman Bill Foley has found making wines in New Zealand and building their reputations is far more fun in retirement than playing golf

It says it is situated "at the unholy crossroads of Ponsonby and Richmond Rd" and takes pains to distance itself from the Greek neo-Nazi party of the same name.

Part of North America's appeal is size. It's so big ... big buildings, big highways, big open spaces, big ideas, supersized food and big hair.

When I hear the word "authentic" applied to any product, I am immediately suspicious.

There are a few countries whose wines I’ve yet to try. Now, thanks to La Cantina importer Ben Naden, I can tick Malta off the list.

Magnus Nilsson, the 28-year-old chef from Sweden, has been dubbed the new Rene Redzepi of the food world.

There's nothing like a crisis to bring people together. It was the Depression of the 1930s that made growers in Europe join forces and form the co-operative wineries that still make a significant proportion of the continent's wines today.

Boom. I'm excited. At last Auckland has its own Basque-style tapas bar complete with a counter laden with just-prepared, ready to eat pintxos, the name given to traditional tapas in northern Spain.