Fifteen judges will taste 622 wines entered into the 2025 Marlborough Wine Show this week.
Chief Judge Stu Marfell will be joined by a further 12 local judges, as well as out of region guest judges Sam Kim and Toni Paterson MW, in assessing the wines over three days.
“We’re extremely pleased to have both of these talented and knowledgeable wine experts on the panel this year, Sam as a returning guest judge, and Toni for the first time,” says Marfell.
“Sam has been involved in the New Zealand wine industry in various ways for 36 years and has been a wine judge for the majority of that time, while Toni is a leading Australian wine critic, commentator and judge. It’s a true pleasure to be able to host them at this year’s show.”
Paterson is a member of the Institute of Masters of Wine, having passed the rigorous examination on her first attempt, and was awarded the Madame Lily Bollinger Medal for tasting excellence. She has been judging wines across the world for three decades.
Following judging, Marlborough locals have this year been given the opportunity to taste some of more than 400 of the wines entered into the 2025 show.
Taking place on Saturday, 18 October, the Marlborough Wine Grand Tasting will replace the traditional, industry-only tasting and be held over two sessions at the recently opened venue, Marlborough Wine + Food Experience.
“For those in the wine industry, the industry tasting has been an annual must-do on the calendar for many years,” says Marfell.
“This year, we wanted to invite the community to explore the region’s new release wines and join us in celebrating not only the wines, but also this exciting new venue for our region.”
Alongside the Marlborough Wine Grand Tasting, a Marlborough Wine Show Celebration event will also be held on 14 November, where the show’s best wines are recognised with trophies that are given to those entrants and the industry celebrates together.
The 662 wines entered into this year’s show make up 562 individual entries.
Those interested in attending the Marlborough Grand Wine Tasting can purchase tickets here.
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