New Zealand Sommelier of the Year Awards 2025

New Zealand Sommelier & Junior Sommelier of the Year Award 2025

Junior Sommeliers will be aged under 26 years on July 1st 2025.

This will be followed by the New Zealand Sommeliers and Wine Professionals Awards Dinner.

Venue: New Zealand School of Food and Wine

 

9 - 10.30am   Tasting and Theory 

• Taste and write notes for one white and one red wine
• Theory: Answer questions on New Zealand and International wines

10.45am - 1pm   Service Practical

• Task 1 Decant and serve a red wine under cork and answer questions
• Task 2 Food and Wine Pairing
• Task 3 Spirits blind tasting

1pm AGM of NZ Sommeliers and Wine Professionals

3pm - 4.30pm   New Zealand National Wine Tasting Competition 

Teams of 4 people with groups coming from around New Zealand.

For those of you who are not in a regional team, you will be able form a team and join the competition in the OPEN category.

4.30 - 6.30pm   NZ Sommelier and Wine Professional Partners Wine POP UP Tasting

 

5pm NZ Sommelier Final with 3 finalists compete together in public

• Task 1. Precision Pouring - Method Traditional poured in 5 minutes
• Task 2. Wine list - spot the mistakes (displayed on data projector)
• Task 3. Recognise this photo? A series of images of people and places to test your general knowledge of international wines

6.30 - 10pm   Awards Dinner

Winners announced during dinner

• New Zealand Sommelier 
• New Zealand Junior Sommelier