Viva’s wine editor Dr Jo Burzynska selects New Zealand’s 50 most thrilling wineries for 2023, and 50 top wines to try from each.
New Zealand’s wine scene has never been more exciting, and with this in mind, the time felt right to celebrate our hard-working industry with Viva’s inaugural wine awards. For the awards, wine editor Dr Jo Burzynska not only selected 50 top New Zealand wineries, but the best wines to drink from each. Her criteria? “Wineries that consistently make not just good but excellent wines across the board, that offer real interest, and are a pleasure to drink.”
Jo tastes wine all year round and visits many wineries, but the lead-up to selecting the final wineries was particularly frenetic. “Reviewing past notes, tasting the latest releases from the shortlisted wineries and staying abreast with their ongoing developments is key.
“New Zealand’s wineries are making more exciting wines than ever before, so the standard of what I’m tasting is generally high. But this was the toughest thing about the awards, making the final selection.”
Read on for her top 50 wineries, and enjoy.
