About 90% of the wine produced in New Zealand was exported to more than 100 countries.
Shipments to China grew 47% to $56m, while exports to South Korea lifted 92% to $44m.
Overall exports to second-tier markets, excluding the UK, USA and Australia, which together accounted for 70% of exports, rose 17% in the past 12 months to just under $600m.
“According to market researcher IWSR, lighter refreshing styles are outpacing overall wine category performance,” Yukich said.
“This shift is driven by varietals with more refreshing palate profiles, which New Zealand excels in delivering.”
However, he said, the industry was facing a number of challenges, with uncertainty around the long-term impact of tariffs on demand for New Zealand wine in the United States.
“While the increased tariffs have been in place since April, with a further increase in August, it is not yet possible to discern the effect of these in the export data.”
The 2025 vintage was unusually large, with positive weather conditions bringing warm, dry days and cool nights, producing a high-quality harvest, though a lot of grapes were left on the vine.
New Zealand Winegrowers chief executive Phillip Gregan said the grape yield was exceptional, with the volume far exceeding the industry’s ability to process it.
“The weather was so fantastic for grape-growing that [the] crop was really once-in-a-generation,” Gregan said.
“There was no way we were ever going to be able to harvest all those grapes.
“We wouldn’t have had the capacity in our wineries.
“So there’s still plenty of our wine available to grow sales over the last [year].”
– RNZ
