Nona Pelletier, RNZ | 30 September 2025
The value of wine exports has dropped slightly over the past year, though volumes remain strong with an exceptionally large 2025 harvest to drive growth.
NZ Winegrowers annual report indicates exports rose 5 percent by volume in the year ended June, though the value of exports was down slightly at $2.10 billion.
Association chair Fabian Yukich said there had been strong export growth to Asian markets over the past year, though the value of exports to the major United States market fell 4 percent to $762 million.
About 90 percent of the wine produced in New Zealand was exported to more than 100 countries.
Shipments to China grew 47 percent to $56m, while exports to South Korea lifted 92 percent to $44m.
Overall exports to second-tier markets, which excluded UK, USA and Australia which together accounted for 70 percent of exports, rose 17 percent 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.”
Vintage 2025
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.
Winegrowers chief executive Phillip Gregan said the grape yield was exceptional with the volume far exceeding the industry’s ability to process.
“The weather was so fantastic for grape growing that 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.”
