About the Awards
The Air New Zealand Wine Awards is the premier wine competition in New Zealand recognising excellence in winemaking. The competition is owned and organised by New Zealand Winegrowers, the national organisation for the country's 1,300 grape growers and winemakers.
In 2009 1,655 wines were judged by a team of local and international judges to identify medal and trophy winners for each of the varietal categories.
Every year kiwi wine lovers eagerly await the results of the Air New Zealand Wine Awards to help them with their selection of quality New Zealand wine.
The competition has been running for close to 30 years and Air New Zealand have been the naming rights sponsor for the majority of that time.
In conjunction with the Awards, a gala dinner is held to announce and celebrate the Elite Gold medal winning wines and the Trophy winning wines, and to acknowledge the talents of our winemakers. This is a high-profile black-tie dinner, with a quality focus both in terms of wine and fine New Zealand cuisine.
The 2009 Air New Zealand Wine Awards was held at the Christchurch Convention Centre on Saturday 21 November 2009 and images are available in the Gallery section.