Can you trust the little gold stickers on wine bottles?

August 2, 2019

A vino expert helps separate the prized plonk from the not so good stuff. (Source: Other)

For most Kiwis, choosing wine in a shop means looking for a type of grape they can pronounce, checking the price and settling on something that doesn't make us seem too cheap.

Sometimes it helps to look at how many little gold stickers are on the bottle.

But no two stickers are the same. So, Seven Sharp asked, are some companies in the wine industry taking us all for a gold stickered ride?

Take a closer look next time you're at the supermarket because a lot of those little golden stickers are not awards.

Either that, or some of the "awards" are perhaps questionable.

Jim Harre, Chair of Judges of the New World Wine Awards, says some of the stickers on bottles don't relate to the wine in them.

"If they've got a sticker how many years the winery has been in business, or whether they've got a brown labrador in the winery, lovely to know but probably doesn't relate to that specific wine as such," Mr Harre said.

The rules are very strict at the New World Wine Awards. That's important because one medal could be a life-changing break for a small vineyard.

"We operate what we call a double blind system. So when a winery enters, their wine it is given a four-digit code," Mr Harre explained. 

"Once that code comes in here it then gets given a three-letter code."

The champion is decided by 37 separate, independent tastings.

Watch Julian Lee's report from the wine awards in the video above. 

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