New World Wine Awards competition

Get ready to raise your glass to New Zealand’s most consumer-focused wine competition! 

The New World Wine Awards offers wineries a fantastic opportunity to showcase their top drops under $25 to wine-loving shoppers in New World stores nationwide.  

Now in its 22nd year, this competition is unique within the industry for pairing the rigour of an international-standard wine show with a retail platform, helping the top wines shine in store and experience a boost in brand exposure and sales as a result of their win. 

Any winery with wines fitting the entry criteria can enter this show. You don’t need to be an existing supplier to New World or Foodstuffs to enter. 

With the goal to find the very best wines that are also affordable and accessible for shoppers, the awards have a unique focus on wines that retail for $25 or less. The Top 50 Gold medal-winning wines will be rewarded with distribution through 140+ New World stores across the country and receive comprehensive publicity support both in-store and out.  

This means extensive brand exposure through in-store displays with eye-catching point of sale to help customers readily find and purchase these fantastic wines. The Top 50 wines, all under $25, will then continue to be actively promoted through the high-volume Christmas period, which immediately follows the dedicated five-week awards display.   

The minimum volume requirement for popular varietals is 4,000 bottles to enable a wide spread of styles and producers to enter. To open the opportunity for niche varietal producers and encourage consumer trial of lesser known varieties the minimum volume requirement for emerging varietals is 1,800 bottles, and we have specific classes to give these wines additional focus.

Zero alcohol wines are encouraged to enter as we aim to find the best examples to satisfy our customer’s quest for delicious alternatives. Overseas wines are very welcome into the competition – overseas wines selected for the Top 50 must have the minimum volume requirement landed, out of port and available for dispatch by Friday 30 August.

New Zealand wines retailing over $25 are very welcome into the competition. While they are not eligible for the Top 50, they’ll receive the full evaluation by the judging panel and you’ll be sent the judges score, along with the judges’ summary notes and a report showing how the wine fared within the class.  

We’re delighted to have Jen Parr as Chair of Judges, and welcome Murray Cook as her deputy as well as returning judges Helen Morrison (Booster Wine Group), Stu Marfell (Foley Family Wines), John-Paul Henderson (Salty Pidgin), Simon Nunns (Consultant), Kate Bennett (Rose Family Estate), Simon Fell (Trinity Hill), Laura Hutchinson (Consultant), Natalie Christensen (Yealands Wine Group), Terry Copeland (Consultant), Oliver Masters (Misha’s Vineyard), Krystal Palmer (Accolade Wines) and Sam Smail (Sea Level Wines). We’re also pleased to welcome new judges to our team, including Leah Kirkland, Group Beverage Manager from Josh Emmett Restaurants and Richard Painter from Villa Maria) as well as Alena Kamper, the 2023 NZ Young Winemaker winner, as Associate Judge. Jo Gear will be the competition’s Chief Steward, ensuring the show is run to the highest industry standards.  

We really encourage you to enter! It makes great commercial sense to enter this consumer-focussed wine show with an expert judging panel that makes excellent value, top quality medal-winning wines readily available to a wide variety of customers.    

More information:

	Classes
	Dates and deadlines
	Frequently asked questions
	Terms and conditions