New Zealand wine stands at a fork in the road. One path leads towards corporate behemoths churning out industrial quantities of mass-market Sauvignon Blanc; the other features increasingly refined, site-specific wines across a range of styles that compete with the world’s very best. Which will it be? In this New Zealand Wines of the Year feature, we take you behind the scenes after tasting hundreds of wines to get to grips with what’s really going on in Kiwi wine. We highlight the best producers, what they’re doing and why. And we throw more than a few big calls out there – for example, why New Zealand Chardonnay and Pinot Noir is currently getting our vote over Burgundy…and why fizz should be part of New Zealand’s wine future. We’re privileged to be joined by New Zealand wine royalty in the shape of Helen Masters (Ata Rangi), Matt Thomson (Blank Canvas), Matt Sutherland (Dog Point), Kevin Judd (Greywacke), Ed Donaldson (Pegasus Bay)…and part-time actor, full-time wine superstar Sam Neill (Two Paddocks). This episode is published in tandem with a full report on our website, which is free to download and comes with tons of information and opinion, from vintage summaries to planting stats, plus the odd map: New Zealand Wines of the Year 2026 Report Thanks to New Zealand Winegrowers for facilitating this Wines of the Year initiative, and to the wineries for supporting. This episode is dedicated to the memory of James Healy, who sadly died in early 2026.  Thanks for tuning in. We love to hear from you so please do get in touch! Send us a voice message via Speakpipe. Or you can find all details from this episode, including the full report, on our website: Show notes for Wine Blast S7 E17 – New Zealand Wines of the Year 2026 To support the show, enjoy subscriber-only bonus content as well as early access to all episodes plus full archive access, not to mention subscriber benefits and giveaways, subscribe to Wine Blast PLUS at wineblast.co.uk Instagram: @susieandpeter