Qualmark New Zealand Wine Tourism Award

Qualmark is proud to support the first Qualmark New Zealand Wine Tourism Award in partnership with New Zealand Winegrowers.

Qualmark is committed to supporting New Zealand's wine tourism offering, which helps make New Zealand a must-visit destination through unique wine experiences. By engaging directly with visitors, wineries establish personal connections, turning tourists into enthusiastic ambassadors who spread the word about their memorable experiences.

Who is eligible?

Any winery offering a visitor experience (Cellar door experience) is eligible to enter this award, which celebrates the best of wine tourism in New Zealand.

Your business is not required to be Qualmark accredited.

For this award, businesses are asked to demonstrate how their actions align with the award pillars: Visitor Experience, and Sustainable Practices. 

Good luck to all the entrants; we look forward to learning about your stories and commitment to wine tourism.

The prize

The winner of the Qualmark New Zealand Wine Tourism Award will receive:

• A certificate of achievement and the right to use the Winner’s Award logo for 12 months.

• A free Qualmark membership, valid for one year.

• A Tourism New Zealand press media kit featuring the winner's profile to be shared with all Tourism New Zealand offshore markets.

• A shoutout post Tourism New Zealand's social media-owned channels featuring the winner with a focus on their offerings (food and wine).

• The ability for their product listing on newzealand.com to display the Qualmark New Zealand Wine Tourism 2024 Winner logo.

The judges

David Ernem - Director, Destination Capacity

David Ermen brings over 15 years of global experience in sustainability, tourism, and hospitality to the panel, including time spent designing and testing service quality standards for international premium hotels. Based in Whangārei, he runs Destination Capacity Ltd., where he helps destinations and organisations set strategies, design great service experiences, and tackle complex sustainability challenges.

David is excited to lend his eye for innovation, quality and sustainable practices to this award.

David Perks - Chair, Regional Tourism New Zealand

Wellington based, David is the Chair of Regional Tourism NZ and holds governance roles on a number of other tourism sector bodies including Tourism Industry Aotearoa and Business Events Industry Aotearoa.

David spent 10 years managing hotels in New Zealand for Millennium Hotels before moving to Wellington to lead tourism in the city in 2008.

David was instrumental in the creation of Visa WOAP, the development of Beervana, and the establishment of the Wellington Culinary Events Trust.

Out of work time David loves to lead a healthy lifestyle balancing running over the hills of Wellington with enjoying its many restaurants and craft breweries.

Steph Holmes - Travel Editor, New Zealand Herald

Steph works as an editor, writer, and editorial leader, and as a presenter of videos and podcasts. She has worked at the Herald since 2016, specialising in Travel and, more recently, Lifestyle and Entertainment, with her entire journalism career dedicated to these subjects. Under her editorship, the Herald’s weekly Travel magazine won the 2020 Voyager Media Award for Best Newspaper Magazine, and in 2022, she was a finalist for the Voyagers’ Editorial Leader of the Year award. Born and raised in the UK, Holmes graduated with a BA (Hons) in Communication Studies from Anglia Ruskin University, followed by a post-graduate journalism diploma. She arrived in New Zealand in 2003 and has lived in Auckland ever since. Her favourite things are travel, food, wine and getting out in nature, not always in that order.