Bannockburn winery Felton Road has been crowned The Real Review’s New Zealand winery of the year in 2024.

Destiny Bay, Church Road, Ata Rangi and Craggy Range complete the top five.

Central Otago wineries have performed strongly this year, taking 36 of the 157 spots.

In top position for the first time ever, Felton Road has never ranked lower than sixth place.

Felton Road winemaker Blair Walter said they were honored to be awarded winery of the Year New Zealand in 2024 by The Real Review.

“We’re blessed in Bannockburn with our four vineyard sites offering such consistent and distinctly high quality wines. We’ve been farming our vineyards organically and biodynamically for over 20 years now which brings additional harmony and nuance to the wines.”

The top gong follows a tasting of over 3500 wines and a number of new entrants to the top wineries.

The representation of the different wine regions in the list and the high proportion of the top wineries with certified organic vineyards is also notable.

Within the top 60, 34 wineries in total have some or all of their vineyards certified organic. 

Marlborough leads the pack with 48 wineries on the list of 157, with Central Otago having 36 wineries. Auckland has 13 entrants, 11 of which are from Waiheke Island.