Seventy wines struck gold at the 2026 Marlborough Wine Show, with Chief Judge Stu Marfell saying the results show a wine region in fine form.<\/p>\n
Judges spent three days tasting more than 500 wines last week, awarding 70 gold, 140 silver and 180 bronze medals in total.<\/p>\n
Sauvignon Blanc, Current Vintage, and Chardonnay, Current Vintage, were the leading categories, picking up 19 and 12 gold medals respectively.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been exciting, we\u2019ve had another strong vintage with the 2026\u2019s,\u201d says Marfell. \u201cAromatics and Sauvignon Blancs have been really strong, and it\u2019s been cool to see things like Albari\u00f1o performing. It\u2019s a wine that has got so much personality and potential, so that\u2019s pretty fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wines across the spectrum had performed well, offering wine drinkers plenty of quality options for their summer festivities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot for Marlborough to be proud of, there really are some great wines coming through, and it\u2019s pretty exciting,\u201d says Marfell.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot to like for wine drinkers, across everything from Albari\u00f1o to Pinot Noir and everything in between, they are all looking really good.\u201d<\/p>\n
The quality of 2026 followed two strong vintages in 2024 and 2025, says Marfell, 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marfell 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cJennifer and Terry were both amazing to have on the team, bringing both knowledge and enthusiasm, and we\u2019ve had some new associates, and judges stepping into senior roles as well this year, so it\u2019s really nice to see that progression coming through,\u201d says Marfell.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marfell will shadow Cook as he steps into the role of Chief Judge in 2027.<\/p>\n
Trophies will be announced at the 2026 Marlborough Wine Show Celebration, taking place on Friday 13 November at the Queen Charlotte Yacht Club in Picton.<\/p>\n
Two Wine Marlborough Lifetime Achievement Award recipients will also be announced at the celebration.<\/p>\n
Gold Medals by Varietal Class2026Sparkling5Sauvignon Blanc \u2013 Current Vintage (2026)19Sauvignon Blanc \u2013 Older (2025 & older)3Sauvignon Blanc \u2013 Alternative Style3Riesling3Pinot Gris7Gew\u00fcrztraminer1Other White Wines2Sweet Wines2Chardonnay \u2013 Current Vintage (2026, 2025, 2024)12Ros\u00e92Pinot Noir \u2013 Current Vintage (2026, 2025, 2024)9Pinot Noir \u2013 2022 and older2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Total70<\/p>\n
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