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2026 was defined by precision. The 2026 growing season in Hawke’s Bay opened with a dry, hot spring, setting the tone for a vintage where timing and patience mattered more than anything else. Two early summer rain events provided just enough relief to lift the canopy at the right moment, before the season returned to long dry days and cooler nights through late summer and early autumn.
Wine-Searcher’s “Best Value Sauvignon Blancs of 2026” highlights the continuing strength of New Zealand and Chile in producing world-class Sauvignon Blanc at accessible prices. Among the standout wines, Te Mata Estate Sauvignon Blanc was named the No. 9 best value Sauvignon Blanc in the world, reinforcing Hawke’s Bay’s growing reputation for premium quality and exceptional value on the international stage.
Elston Chardonnay has just been named the fourth best value wine, of any wine, of any style, from anywhere. And the best value chardonnay in the world.“Chardonnay is the world’s favourite white wine style.”The depth of quality to price on offer in New Zealand chardonnay is really reinforced with six wines selected in the Top 100.”
Something iconic happened in London recently, in the Red Room at the Pavilion Hotel in Knightsbridge. Te Mata Estate held a tasting of fifteen vintages of Coleraine, stretching back more than forty years. It was an extraordinary opportunity to look at innovation and continuation within Coleraine’s development, and how the wine has evolved over four decades.
Lighter, recycled glass bottles are quietly reshaping the environmental footprint of New Zealand wine. For Hawke’s Bay producers like Te Mata Estate, exporting to more than 45 countries, reducing bottle weight and increasing recycled content offers a practical way to cut emissions at scale. It is a simple shift with cumulative impact.
At Te Mata, our work begins in the vineyard and continues through the winery to the finished bottle. It is a continuous process, shaped by land, light and season. Increasingly, it is also shaped by the systems that support how we work, including energy, which sits quietly behind every stage of production.
Each vintage is a celebration of time and our terroir. Each one is distinct, each one is shaped by the land, people, and nature. In 2024, we had time to find poise. It was an remarkable harvest, producing beautifully balanced wines with elegance, power and restraint. From a remarkable harvest, we are immensely proud of these deeply thought-provoking wines.
This season, we’re using AI-powered image analysis to count individual berries on each cluster, giving us a clearer picture of yield before harvest. By focusing on berry numbers – rather than size – we gain insight into how the vintage is shaping up. Details like this help us translate careful vineyard work into higher-quality wines in the glass.
Our updated Te Mata Estate Cellaring Guide is released every six months and based on tastings from our own cellar, reviewed by our winemaking and management teams. It offers guidance on how our wines evolve over time and highlights optimal drinking windows. The guide reflects our long-standing commitment to crafting wines that reward patience and careful cellaring.
Hawke’s Bay is now part of the global Great Wine Capitals Network, alongside the worlds great wine regions: Bordeaux, California, Mendoza, and more. Explore what this elite alliance of wine regions represents, and why regional identity sits at the heart of Te Mata Estate’s winemaking.
Discover an experience designed for every wine lover, from first-time visitors to serious collectors – and our new Summer Courtyard experience.
