Strong vintages and age-worthy wines shine at the 2026 Marlborough Wine Show, sponsored by QuayConnect. Seventy wines struck gold at the 2026 Marlborough Wine Show, sponsored by QuayConnect, with Chief Judge Stu Marfell saying the results show a wine region in fine form. Judges spent three days tasting more than 500 wines last week, awarding 70 gold, 140 silver and 180 bronze medals in total.

Sauvignon Blanc, Current Vintage, and Chardonnay, Current Vintage, were the leading categories, picking up 19 and 12 gold medals respectively, confirming Stu’s observations of a stellar vintage.

“It’s been exciting, we’ve had another strong vintage with the 2026’s,” he said. “Aromatics and Sauvignon Blancs have been really strong, and it’s been cool to see things like Albariño performing. It’s a wine that has got so much personality and potential, so that’s pretty fun.”

Wines across the spectrum had performed well, offering wine drinkers plenty of quality options for their summer festivities.

“There’s a lot for Marlborough to be proud of, there really are some great wines coming through, and it’s pretty exciting,” Stu said. “There’s a lot to like for wine drinkers, across everything from Albariño to Pinot Noir and everything in between, they are all looking really good.”

The quality of 2026 followed two strong vintages in 2024 and 2025, Stu said, and tasting the Legacy entries, which include three vintages of the same wine from within a 10-year period, further proved that in some cases, Marlborough wines get even better with age.

“We’re probably almost drinking [these wines] a bit young, at times. There were some really great older wines, and sometimes, of the three wines, it was the oldest of the three that really shone through as being the most interesting,” he said.

Stu was joined by Shadow Chief Judge, Marlborough Winemaker Murray Cook, guest judges Jennifer Docherty MW from Hong Kong and New Zealand based Terry Copeland, alongside a team of senior and associate judges for the Marlborough Wine Show tasting.

“Jennifer and Terry were both amazing to have on the team, bringing both knowledge and enthusiasm, and we’ve had some new associates, and judges stepping into senior roles as well this year, so it’s really nice to see that progression coming through. It’s also been great to have Murray in the Shadow Chief role. He has a great focus on the wines and brings fresh ideas to the show.”

Stu will shadow Murray as he steps into the role of Chief Judge in 2027.

This year’s medal winners were notified of their success at 12pm today. Trophies will be announced at the 2026 Marlborough Wine Show Celebration, this year taking place on Friday 13 November at the Queen Charlotte Yacht Club in Picton.

Two Wine Marlborough Lifetime Achievement Award recipients will also be announced at the Celebration.

About the Marlborough Wine Show

The 2026 Marlborough Wine Show, sponsored by QuayConnect, is a regional wine competition run by Wine Marlborough Ltd. It provides an important platform for producers to benchmark their wines and reinforces the region’s position on the world wine stage. Its core aims are to:

• Champion Marlborough wine excellence and provenance
• Promote sub-regional diversity across New Zealand’s largest wine region
• Foster and develop local wine show judging talent

Led by Chief Judge Stu Marfell, entries are assessed by panels of experienced judges, with trophies and medals (gold, silver and bronze) awarded based on the internationally recognised 100-point system.

Medal winners were notified on Thursday 29 October, with trophy winners to be announced at the Marlborough Wine Show Celebration on Friday 13 November 2026.

For more information, visit https://www.marlboroughwineshow.com/