We’ve created a crazy-good compilation of the most triumphant tipples of the last twelve months for you to reacquaint your brains and refresh your taste buds.

As we stare down a whole new year of anticipation about which sips are going to impress the pants off our judging panels in 2025, we’ve realised we love a bit of good old reflection here at dish. Especially when we’re still in our bright, fresh, relaxed, post-holiday blush. We love looking back at the drinks that’ve come top of the class in each of last year’s Tasting Panels because they’re exceptionally tasty, exceptionally well made and deserve to be applauded again and again. So go to the cabinet where the good glasses are kept, pour yourself something glorious and reacquaint yourself with the best of the best from 2024. Salut! non-alc sparkler. We were not expecting to find a sparkling wine with such delicious lemony delicacy and balance. Serve super-chilled. blackmarket.co.nz

Top in 0% Alcohol

McGuigan ZERO Sparkling NV ($13.99) – Gold Medal

Wow! We were not expecting to find a gold medal winning wine, let alone a sparkling one! The McGuigan has such delicious lemon and apple delicacy and balance and all three judges wrote words like “clean”, “refreshing” and “refined” for this outstanding non-alc sparkler.. Serve super-chilled. Blackmarket.co.nz

Garage Project Tiny XPA 330ml ($4.00) – Gold Medal

“Lordy! Here’s a beer our judges kept going back to. With its lifted, lemony nose, rich, complex, yeasty notes, its grapefruit pip and pine bitterness, deliciously solid mid-palate weight and its lengthy finish – it’s a total eyepopper”. Garageproject.co.nz

Top in Bordeaux Reds

Church Road Hawke's Bay McDonald Series Merlot 2021 ($28.99) - Gold Medal

Deeply glossy and garnet- black in the glass, this powerful, black- fruited wine erupts with blackcurrant leaf florals, dark cocoa and smoky oak. On the palate it delivers rich concentration, cigar box complexity and elegant, finely tuned tannins to finish. A powerful, cellar-worthy, exceptional value example. church-road.com

Church Road Hawke's Bay 1 Malbec 2021 ($120.00) - Gold Medal

An absolutely stunning wine bursting with brooding dark fruits and seductive, invitingly lush textures. This world- class malbec roars with rich, berry-centric complexity, highly aromatic spices, elegantly handled oak and a hint of dried herb and leather to finish. Stunning. church-road.com

Mudbrick Waiheke Island Velvet 2022 ($195.00) - Gold Medal

With its inky colour and powerful nose of violets, dark fruits, mocha and cedar followed by a palate massaged by menthol, this blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and petit verdot has a soothing, beautifully balanced mouthfeel and fresh, frisky tannins. Magical. mudbrick.co.nz

Top in Gin

Juno Extra Fine Gin ($99.00) – Gold Medal

It isn’t every day that all your judges immediately give something a near-perfect score of 19.5/20, each running out of space to write notes. This “straight-up banger” absolutely stunned with its ultra-pretty, intensely floral aromas of freshly scratched citrus peel, carraway, gentian, makrut lime, lemon verbena and orange blossom. On the palate, it delivers a generously rich, glossy mouthfeel, late-onset juniper, juicy delicacy, and beautifully balanced, like a Simone Biles beam routine. Sublime. junogin.com

Greytown Distilling Co Settler ($89.00) – Gold Medal

With its classically delicate English garden aromatics and savoury spice range along its spine, this complex gin is stitched together with anise, lime leaf and hints of sage and tea-like tension to finish. Impressive. greytowngin.com

Top in Chardonnay

Vavasour Papa Marlborough Chardonnay 2021 ($35.00) – Gold Medal

A collective “wow” rumbled forth from the judges as they sipped this wine. With its mouthfilling melon, peach purity, beautifully integrated oak, rich, nutty nuances and incredible length of flavour, it’s big, bold, ultra-concentrated and yet showing finely tuned, precise fruit. Thought-provoking and well made, this southern stunner made a massive impression. “What more could you want?” wrote Gordon Russell. vavasour.com

Villa Maria Reserve Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2021 ($40.00) – Gold Medal

Prepare for a powerful, mouthfilling, sensationally showy wine with lifted aromatics, robust yet beautifully balanced oak, and a refreshing core of concentrated citrus characters. Smoky layers weave their way through the grapefruit and nectarine notes, leaving a lengthy, powerful finish. Luxuriously lovely. villamariawines.com

Top in Sparkling Wines

Deutz Marlborough Blanc de Blancs 2019 ($31.00) – Gold Medal

Gorgeously golden in the glass and roaring with rising dough and bread-crust characters, which follow through to create delicious intensity, richness, and nutty concentration on the palate. Crafted entirely from chardonnay, it’s full-bodied, luxurious, and maintains superb balance of minerality, acidity, and citrus pith plushness. It boasts salivating, shortbread-like complexity, which adds to its incredible palate weight and unputdownability. A clear judges’ favourite from the first sip. thegoodwine.co.nz

Tohu Rewa Marlborough Blanc de Blancs 2017 ($39.00) – Gold Medal

Seven sleepy years in the bottle has created a powerhouse of a chardonnay-based sparkler that’s roaring with fresh red apple, almond and finely tuned citrus complexity. The pinprick-tiny bubbles elevate its nutty, biscuity finesse and accentuate its generous palate persistence. A stunning example. tohuwines.co.nz