Our stance is simplicity. A level playing field for all, to let the wine do the talking.
- Not all organic wine is good. In fact, just as with non-organic wines, in years gone by there have been some truly terrible organic wines. However we believe that organic viticulture allows a winemaker to produce a superior quality of wine than when using non organic grapes.
- The right reasons. People chose to drink organic wine for a variety of reasons, from health benefits such as lower sulphites, environmental reasons such as no toxic spraying. However we come to organic wine with a purely selfish motive, we think organic growing can produce better wine.
- If a wine is listed in our results you can be assured of a great wine. Not all wines entered receive a medal, in 2016 we awarded 43 medals (gold, silver and bronze) out of 123 entries received. This assures consumers that when you see a “Organic Wine Awards’ sticker on a bottle, you can be sure of a quality bottle of wine.
- Certification is everything. If you’re not certified, then your not organic. The certification process is lengthy, and meticulous, however it provides a minimum standard definition for using the term ‘organic’, which in turn reassures consumers as to the vineyards practices.
- Independence. We aren’t affiliated with any NZ vineyard, and none of our judges work for any vineyard, distributor or in the supply chain for any organic vineyard eligible to enter the awards.
- Life’s not fair but these awards are. Unlike many awards we do not charge an entry fee on wine, and have a very low sample requirement. This allows all vineyards big, and small to afford to compete on a level playing field.