It may be winter, but the heat is on as the wine industry’s future leaders prepare to battle it out at the annual national finals taking place at the end of August in Martinborough.
Five finalists will compete in the 2026 Ormond Nurseries Young Viticulturist of the Year competition at Escarpment on Wednesday 26 August. They are Heath Miller from Pask, Hawke’s Bay; Alex Coombs, Craggy Range, Wairarapa; Kris Godsall, Cloudy Bay, Marlborough; Joshua Irving, Lincoln University, North Canterbury; and Braxton Benseman, Mt. Difficulty, Central Otago.
The 2026 Tonnellerie de Mercurey Young Winemaker of the Year national finalists will compete at Foley’s The Runholder on Tuesday 25 August. They are Aaron Coxhead, Coxhead Wines, Waikato; Nick Lamain, Isabel Estate, Marlborough; and Joshua Irving, Lincoln University, North Canterbury, the first person ever to compete in both national finals in the same year.
The final challenge for all the competitors will be to deliver their speeches at the New Zealand Wine 2026 Wine Business Forum and Celebration Dinner on 27 August. The winners will be announced that same evening at the Celebration Dinner.
The build-up to the competitions began in January with information sessions and some very focused contestants signing up prior to vintage. Regional competitions then took place from May to July. The commitment from the contestants to grow themselves and the support given by wine industry members and sponsors highlights the passion and drive within the wine industry.
“It’s been a huge team effort supporting our future leaders and the positive community spirit around these programmes is very special,” says Nicky Grandorge, Leadership & Communities Manager at New Zealand Winegrowers. “Everyone involved should be very proud of this.”
The finalists have the opportunity to win some amazing prizes as well as the prestigious title of Tonnellerie de Mercurey Young Winemaker of the Year or Ormond Nurseries Young Viticulturist of the Year.
As well as cash prizes, the young viticulturist prize pool includes the Ecotrellis Travel Grant, BioStart Hortisports and Syngenta Biologicals Nutrition prizes, a Leadership Week, artwork and Associate Judge at the National Wine Awards.
The young winemakers' prize pool includes cash, a trip to the Tonnellerie de Mercurey cooperage in Burgundy, Constellation Brands Laboratory and Indevin Wine Judging prizes, an Associate Judge role at the New World Wine Show, artwork, and reviewing wines for DrinksBiz magazine.
Both national winners will receive tickets to Sauvignon Blanc New Zealand 2027 and the Organic Winegrowers Conference.
The competitions are made possible thanks to many generous sponsors.
The Young Viticulturist sponsors are: Ormond Nurseries, BioStart, Ecotrellis, Syngenta Biologicals, Fruitfed Supplies, Constellation Brands, Empak, Fendt, Indevin, Klima, Lowe, Waterforce, The New Zealand Society for Viticulture and Oenology (NZSVO), DrinksBiz and New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW).
The Young Winemaker sponsors are: Tonnellerie de Mercurey, Fruitfed Supplies, Constellation Brands, Indevin, Albatrans, FMG, Laffort, MCC Labels, Visy, Lallemand, Pacific Rim Oenology, NZSVO, New World, DrinksBiz and NZW.
-Ends-
For further information contact:
Nicky Grandorge
Leadership & Communities Manager, New Zealand Winegrowers,
+64 21 780 948
Nicky.Grandorge@nzwine.com
View the Young Winemaker website here.
View the Young Viticulturist website here.
New Zealand Winegrowers' images can be found here.
EDITOR NOTES:
NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWERS
New Zealand Winegrowers is the national organisation for the country's grape and wine sector, with over 600 grower members, 700 winery members, and directly employing over 7,000 New Zealanders each year. nzwine.com
NEW ZEALAND WINE
New Zealand wine is exported to more than 100 countries
New Zealand produces just over 1% of the world’s wine
New Zealand wine is New Zealand’s eighth-largest export good
New Zealand wine exports for 2024 were $2.1 billion
View reports and statistics here