A glance back and a vision forward: D&N's 2026 Newsletter
Masterclass Series
Last year we had tremendous success in sharing our wines, their stories, their people, their terroir in the Masterclass Series.
As a diverse bunch of sommeliers, buyers and mixologists at D&N, the ability to dive deeply into the sensory aspects and story is the key to being able to communicate about our great wines and craft beverages which we work so hard to source.
Therefore, I am proud to launch the 2026 Masterclass Series.
See all the upcoming events here.
In February we will start with a local legend… Zephyr. Ben Glover is doing wonders with Organics in his Marlborough vineyards. He is also completely aligned with his winemaker, David Foes. Together they are showing the true expression of terroir from their vineyards by paying attention to every single vine in their Coterie.
Later in February, I am super excited to have Arjen Pen of Château Branas in Moulis-en-Médoc, Bordeaux. It’s Arjen’s first visit to New Zealand and we will be showing his exceptional 2016 and 2018 vintages of his Branas Grand Poujeaux. And for a very lucky few we will be launching his Château Marpaout. We only have an allocation of 6 bottles – trade price $1,995 per bottle. This 100% Merlot from the left bank is now being rated by critics as having a greatness in likeness to Petrus and Masseto…
In March, we will of course be welcoming our regular friend and Champagne extraordinaire, Mr Sebastien Papin of Maison Billecart-Salmon. This Maison needs no introduction to its greatness and is a true gem in the wine world. This year we will be focusing on the iconic Rosé: The 2009 Cuvee Elisabeth and the Flagship: 2006 Clos St Hilaire, so buckle up. Those of you from Hawke’s Bay – you will be particularly lucky this year with events at Craggy Range and Cape Kidnappers.
In April we will be welcoming at the same time Raphael Vale from Cantina Zaccanini of Abruzzo and Andreas Wickman from Enzo Bartoli of Barolo. So ready your pasta-makers and your senses for bouquets of wild rosemary, thyme, oregano and the beautiful supple tannins of these gorgeous Italian wines.
And for May, we are very proud to have Matthew Deller MW with us for a week, showing off his work of some of the finest wines from Adelaide Hills in the form of Handhorf Hill and Ashton Hills vineyards.
Wines on Allocation
In 2025 we started to feel more confident to bring in great wines on allocation from iconic producers for whom it has taken many years to earn their trust and allocations.
We will continue and accelerate the sourcing of these incredible parcels this year. Be ready to make your allocation decisions on fine wines such as the Champagnes of Larmandier-Bernier and Egly-Ouriet, the Burgundys of Pierre Vincent Girardin and Phillipe Chavy, The Chablis Of Christian Moreau and Cyril Testut, Bargylus from the only operational winery in Syria, Kongsgaard and Hyde de Villaine from the States, Ornellaia and Masseto from Italy, Catena Zapata from Argentina and many more. Needless to say that all of these wines are on extremely limited allocation.
The Coravin Revolution
Undoubtedly one of the highlights of 2025 was the visit of Coravin Owner and Founder Greg Lambrecht to New Zealand. Greg is truly one of the visionaries of our industry.
His motto of ‘By the glass, any time, any place’ has revolutionised wine and its consumption. Every week millions of glasses are sold via Coravin globally. We are seeing a very large uptake in this technology from you. Reducing wastage costs, and having more interesting and varied wines by the glass is a game changer. If you still have not found Coravin, make 2026 the year you joined the revolution. I swear by it. I have Vintage Champagnes in my cellar at home that are over a year old and have now been half consumed under Coravin and each new glass is still as fresh as the first glass.
In the second half of the year we will also be taking the acclaimed Coravin ‘Triangle’ tasting around New Zealand – possibly one of the best tastings I have ever participated in.
Read Celia Hay of the NZ School of Food & Wine’s experience of the tasting here.
THE MAGNUM CLUB
After the incredible success of THE MAGNUM CLUB last year we will be initiating the club again this year – dining in incredible establishments and with their co-operation allowing us to pair their incredible food with the world’s finest and rarest wines.
In fact we will be launching with an exclusive 12 seater dinner at The French Café on Friday 20th February with special guest Arjen Pen from Chateau Branas and Marpaout. We will be showing his first ever vintage of the 2022 Marpaout, his 100% Merlot from Left Bank Merlot which many critics are touting is equal to if not greater than Petrus. Tickets $295 per head, 4 courses, priority to MAGNUM CLUB members. If you wish to become a member please contact me directly.
Market Insights
The total market for wine consumed in New Zealand experienced a contraction by 6% from the previous year AND a steadily declining contraction of 32% in the last decade.
Kiwis consumed a total literage of 77 million litres, split at 40million litres of NZ made wine and 37 million litres of imported wine.
Interestingly, in 2025 New Zealand wine growers experienced a large harvest with 374 Million litres of wine produced. Total historical markets are 330 Million litres and declining. This will leave a surplus of at 45+ million Litres of finished NZ wine though 2026. This will need a home and will likely create pressure for many to downward price to maintain sales or indeed increase sales to fill surplus in a declining market
Imports to New Zealand saw a continual increase year on year between 2015 and 2023, with all time peaks for Imports of French and Italian wines in 2023 and US wines in 2022 and Spanish wines in 2021. Between 2023 and 2025 we saw steep declines in all categories.
This was mirrored for both red and white wines and also Champagne. Interestingly sparkling wines (dominated by Prosecco) showed a counter trend upwards
During this period D+N has focused more and more on listening to you and enhancing our image and reputation according to our Core Values:
WE RESPECT THOSE WHO CREATE WONDERS
BY PATIENTLY LOVING, TOILING AND KNOWING THEIR SMALL PIECE OF EARTH
THROUGH THE GENERATIONS
WE PASSIONATELY BELIEVE IN BUILDING A BRIDGE
BY EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE
SO THAT YOU MAY BETTER APPRECIATE AND INDULGE IN THESE WONDERS
THAT YOU SO WELL DESERVE
