Expert judges have swirled, sniffed, sipped, tasted and debated over 1,200 different wines to find the Top 50 wines under $25*.
This year more than 130 wineries from New Zealand and overseas entered over 1,200 wines into the 21st annual New World Wine Awards. A focus on affordable and available wines means every entry must retail for $25 or less and have plenty of stock available.
The 50 highest-ranked wines are then sold through New World stores nationwide*.
The New World Wine Awards are judged over three full days by an independent panel of experts, including winemakers, industry professionals and even wine scientists! Meanwhile, back of house, the integrity of the judging process is maintained by an experienced Chief Steward who oversees robust procedures to manage all of the wines and ensure no judge tastes their own wine if entered into the competition.
All wines are blind tasted. This means the judges were never aware of any brands or prices and never see any bottles. They judge the wine in the glass on the day, knowing only the variety, vintage and country of origin.
Each wine is assessed using the same internationally recognised 100-point system used at other leading wine shows, which benchmarks entries against what a perfect wine should be like. A Gold medal wine in these awards is a superb example of its type and you can hold it to the same standard as a Gold medal wine from other respected awards.
During judging, wines are grouped together by variety (eg Sauvignon Blanc) and presented to the judges as a ‘flight’. A panel of three judges individually assess and score each wine in their flight and then convene to discuss their findings and re-taste the top Gold and Silver wines. These re-poured wines are randomised and recoded to ensure every wine is treated equally.
Judging room.
Once the Gold medal winners are agreed by the panel, these wines are again randomised and recoded for the senior judges to rank the wines. This ranking determines the wines that go into the Top 50 and the top ranked wine is awarded the Champion of its variety.
At the final stage of judging, the full judging panel convene to taste the top ranked Champion wine in each variety and award the Champion White Wine, Champion Red Wine and Champion Bubbles of the Show.
To receive a Gold medal, a wine will have been tasted and graded at least 19 times by 11 different judges. The Champion wines go through the further and incredibly robust process of being tasted at least 36 times – all the judges have tasted them and agreed on these top drops!
In addition to the senior judging team, there are a number of Associate Judges or ‘judges in training’ that have the opportunity to learn to evaluate wines alongside the professionals. New World offers this opportunity to Liquor Managers and store owners with an interest and passion for wine, and through scholarships in partnership with NMIT and New Zealand Winegrowers. It's an incredible experience to spend three days in the company of some of the country’s best-known winemakers, judging, discussing and analysing the wines in the competition. The Associates provide a score and opinion on each wine, but their scores don’t count towards the final mark.
If you enjoy logistics, 24 pallets of wine, glasses and equipment were trucked into the venue. All wine bottles are kept away from the judges in a separate room, which is lined with over 100 trestle tables. A team of 12 stewards, set up over 5,000 bottles of wine on these trestles, in their correct positions, in a single day. Each bottle is checked at least 5 times before being opened to ensure it’s the right wine and vintage being judged.
Stewards back room.
* New World Wine Awards Top 50 wines are priced at $25 or less until 12 November 2023. After this time the retail price may vary. Top 50 award winning wines are available in New World stores nationwide, except those in Licensing Trust areas. Top 50 wines are available while stocks last.
The New World Wine Awards are judged by an independent panel of experts from across the wine industry. This year’s panel was assembled by Co-Chairs Sam Kim and Jen Parr, and saw many talented judges return and new ones welcomed to the team. The continued integrity of the judging process was maintained by Chief Steward Jo Gear, who oversaw robust back-of-house procedures and ensured no judge tasted their own wine if entered into the competition.
Jennifer Parr | Co-Chair of Judges
An Oregon native and graduate of Stanford University, Jen has called Wanaka home since 2008. She has international winemaking experience in the United States, France, South Africa, and Australia, in addition to 19 harvests in New Zealand. Jen is the winemaker for Valli Vineyards and was awarded the 2020 Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine New Zealander Winemaker of the Year. This is her sixth year judging for the New World Wine Awards.
Sam Kim | Co-Chair of Judges
Auckland-based Sam has 25 years of international judging experience, including three years as Deputy Chair of the New World Wine Awards, and as senior judge at the Air New Zealand Wine Awards, New Zealand International Wine Show, the Royal Easter Show Wine Awards, Decanter Asia Wine Awards, the New Zealand Aromatic Wine Competition, Spiegelau International Wine Competition, Marlborough Wine Show, and Cuisine magazine. Sam publishes his own web-based wine magazine wineorbit.co.nz, which features reviews of New Zealand and international wines.
