Chair of Judges and Master of Wine, Michael Brajkovich, said the most pleasing aspect of this year’s awards was the spread of gold medals across a number of varieties and regions. “Pinot Noir was once again the star performer with 17 golds. Predominantly the wines came from Marlborough and Central Otago, but a Hawke’s Bay Pinot Noir was also in the mix.”

“The top wines from other categories were exceptional, particularly from Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Riesling and Syrah, and the quality of Hawke’s Bay Merlot and Cabernet-based wines took a big step up this year hailing from strong 2013 and 2014 vintages.”

In addition to the 91 gold medals, 268 silver medals and 614 bronze medals were awarded by the judges, bringing the total number of medals awarded across the 17 different classes to 973.

The ‘best of the best’ elite gold and trophy winning wines will be revealed at a black tie dinner in Auckland on 12 November. The dinner marks the 30th anniversary of the partnership between New Zealand Winegrowers and naming rights sponsor, Air New Zealand.