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 2007 1,540 wines were judged by 16 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 over 25 years and Air New Zealand have been the naming rights sponsor for the past 22 years.
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. Each year the dinner is held in one of New Zealand's 10 winemaking regions. This is a high-profile black-tie dinner, with a quality focus both in terms of wine and fine New Zealand cuisine.
The 2008 Air New Zealand Wine Awards will be held at the TSB Bank Arena in Wellington on Saturday 22 November 2008. With more than 300 cafes, bars and restaurants, Wellington is one of the country's top wine and food destinations.
The 2007 Gala Awards dinner was held in Chirstchurch and images of the 2007 Air New Zealand Wine Awards may be viewed in the Gallery section.