New World has announced its Top 50 in the 2024 New World Wine Awards.
This year, 35 of the 50 winning wines are from Aotearoa, representing some of the country’s most loved, trusted and imbibed wine brands – plus a few new names and varieties too.
Topping the list is iconic Hawke’s Bay winery Church Road, which took two varietal Champion titles for its Church Road Chardonnay 2023 and Church Road Syrah 2021. Both wines then went on to win a taste-off for the titles of White and Red Wine of the Show, respectively.
Chair of Judges, Jen Parr, says it’s rare for one winery to take both pinnacle titles out of the more than 1,280 wines entered.
“All our judging is done ‘blind’, so no brands are known, and every winner earns its place purely on its own merits,” she says.
“After the three-day marathon of judging and ranking, it’s always a thrill to unveil the Top 50 list. Seeing two Champion wines from one winery at this level is very exciting – for us and for the wine-loving shoppers who can now enjoy the fruits of this win.
“These Champion and Wine of the Show titles mean these wines not only scored highly and ranked best against around 100 entries of their same variety, they also rose above strong competition from all other white or red varieties.”
Church Road isn’t the only Hawke’s Bay winery in the limelight, with locally grown wines from Clearview Estate, Mission Estate, Selaks and Trinity Hill rounding out the region’s Top 50 wins.
Sourcing its grapes from Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne, Lindauer also showed why it’s the country’s go-to bubbles brand with another Champion win for its Special Reserve Rosé NV and a Top 50 win for its Special Reserve Blanc de Blancs NV.
Heading south, the Wairarapa delivered three winning pinots, including the Champion Pinot Noir from Luna Estate, and two Top 50 Pinot Gris, one also from Luna Estate and another from Matahiwi Estate.
The country’s biggest wine region, Marlborough, secured a haul of 15 Top 50 Gold medals . The repeat-winning Triplebank Awatere Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2024 earned the Champion Sauvignon Blanc title, alongside Top 50 wines from Esk Valley, Hunting Lodge, Selaks, Summerhouse, Vicar’s Choice and Wairau River.
Marlborough also proved its prowess beyond Sauvignon, with winning Rosé wines from Ara, Caythorpe Family Estate and first-time winner Holdaway, Pinot Gris from Triplebank and Vavasour, pinot noir from Grove Milland Misty Cove, and a Riesling from te Pā.
“The Top 50 list has such diversity to explore,” says Parr. “With winning wines from brands that Kiwi wine drinkers already know and love, as well as those from relatively new names and first-time winners in these awards.
“It’s a great opportunity to grab something completely different and give it a go, knowing the judges have already put it to the taste test on your behalf.”
That’s particularly true of one of Nelson’s three winning wines, and the Champion Aromatic, the Tohu SV Whenua Matua Albariño 2021 – a new variety to New Zealand shores that is ready to win over white wine fans. Tohu also made the Top 50 with their 2024 rosé, alongside a Chardonnay from Top 50 first-timer Heaphy.
Further south, North Canterbury delivered a repeat winner from Mud House and the Champion Pinot Gris from Thornbury. Central Otago’s Madam Sass returned too, beside repeat winner McArthur Ridge, new winner Welcome Swallow and the Champion Rosé from Te Kano.
There were a further 15 winning wines from overseas, including the Champion Red Blend from Yalumba in Australia and the Champion Single Variety Red from Trapiche in Argentina, with Italian Prosecco, French Rosé and Spanish Garnacha also in the mix.
The New World Wine Awards Top 50 is made up of the top-ranked Gold medal wines under $25, selected from more than 1,280 entries through a blind tasting process by an independent panel of expert judges.
Through the judging process, Gold medal wines were tasted at least 19 times by 11 different judges, and a Champion wine were tasted a whopping 36 times or more.
2024 New World Wine Awards Top 50 under $25, listed by region
| Variety | Confirmed Full Name | Champion | Origin |
| Chardonnay | Church Road Chardonnay 2023 | Champion Chardonnay & White Wine of the Show |
Hawke’s Bay |
| Chardonnay | Clearview Estate Coastal Chardonnay 2023 | Hawke’s Bay | |
| Pinot Gris | Selaks Taste Collection Pear and Apple Pinot Gris 2024 | Hawke’s Bay | |
| Red blends | Mission Reserve Cabernet Merlot 2021 | Hawke’s Bay | |
| Shiraz & Syrah | Church Road Syrah 2021 | Champion Shiraz/Syrah & Red Wine of the Show |
Hawke’s Bay |
| Shiraz & Syrah | Trinity Hill Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2021 | Hawke’s Bay | |
| Bubbles | Lindauer Special Reserve Blanc de Blancs NV | Gisborne | |
| Bubbles | Lindauer Special Reserve Rosé NV | Champion Bubbles | Regional Blend |
| Pinot Gris | Luna Estate Pinot Gris 2023 | Wairarapa | |
| Pinot Gris | Matahiwi Estate Pinot Gris Wairarapa 2023 | Wairarapa | |
| Pinot Noir | Luna Estate Pinot Noir 2022 | Champion Pinot Noir | Wairarapa |
| Aromatics | te Pā 2024 Marlborough Riesling | Marlborough | |
| Pinot Gris | Triplebank Awatere Valley Pinot Gris 2024 | Marlborough | |
| Pinot Gris | Vavasour Awatere Valley Pinot Gris 2023 | Marlborough | |
| Pinot Noir | Misty Cove Estate Pinot Noir 2023 | Marlborough | |
| Pinot Noir | Grove Mill Marlborough Pinot Noir 2023 | Marlborough | |
| Rosé | Ara Single Estate Rosé 2023 | Marlborough | |
| Rosé | Holdaway Estate Marlborough Pinot Noir Rosé 2024 | Marlborough | |
| Rosé | Caythorpe Family Estate Marlborough Rosé 2023 | Marlborough | |
| Sauvignon Blanc | Triplebank Awatere Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2024 | Champion Sauvignon Blanc | Marlborough |
| Sauvignon Blanc | Wairau River Sauvignon Blanc 2024 | Marlborough | |
| Sauvignon Blanc | Summerhouse Sauvignon Blanc 2023 | Marlborough | |
| Sauvignon Blanc | The Hunting Lodge Expressions Sauvignon Blanc 2023 | Marlborough | |
| Sauvignon Blanc | Vicar’s Choice Sauvignon Blanc 2023 | Marlborough | |
| Sauvignon Blanc | Selaks Taste Collection Tropical Sauvignon Blanc 2024 | Marlborough | |
| Sauvignon Blanc | Esk Valley Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2023 | Marlborough | |
| Aromatics | Tohu SV Whenua Matua Albariño 2021 | Champion Aromatic | Nelson |
| Chardonnay | Heaphy Chardonnay 2023 | Nelson | |
| Rosé | Tohu Nelson Rosé 2024 | Nelson | |
| Aromatics | Mud House Single Vineyard The Mound Waipara Valley Riesling 2022 | North Canterbury | |
| Pinot Gris | Thornbury Waipara Pinot Gris 2024 | Champion Pinot Gris | North Canterbury |
| Pinot Noir | Madam Sass Central Otago Pinot Noir 2022 | Central Otago | |
| Pinot Noir | Welcome Swallow Pinot Noir 2023 | Central Otago | |
| Pinot Noir | McArthur Ridge Brassknocker 2022 | Central Otago | |
| Rosé | Te Kano Life Rosé 2023 | Champion Rosé | Central Otago |
| Single Variety Reds | Trapiche Pure Black Malbec 2022 | Champion Single Variety Red | Argentina |
| Bubbles | Brown Brothers Sparkling Moscato 2023 | Australia | |
| Bubbles | Yarra Burn YB Prosecco NV | Australia | |
| Bubbles | Mud House Sparkling NV | Australia | |
| Bubbles | De Bortoli KV Prosecco Rosé NV | Australia | |
| Chardonnay | Taylors Promised Land Chardonnay 2023 | Australia | |
| Red blends | Barossa Valley Estate Grenache Shiraz Mourvèdre 2022 | Australia | |
| Red blends | Yalumba Samuel’s Collection Barossa Shiraz Cabernet 2021 | Champion Red Blend | Australia |
| Shiraz & Syrah | Jacob’s Creek Reserve Shiraz 2021 | Australia | |
| Shiraz & Syrah | Grant Burge Fifth Generation Shiraz 2022 | Australia | |
| Single Variety Reds | d’Arenberg The Stump Jump Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 | Australia | |
| Rosé | La Belle Angele Rosé 2023 | France | |
| Bubbles | BRILLA Prosecco Rosé DOC 2023 | Italy | |
| Single Variety Reds | Umani Ronchi Podere Montepulciano 2023 | Italy | |
| Single Variety Reds | Rojo Garnacha 2023 | Spain |
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