This winery is now at the forefront of modern winemaking in Chile, placing great emphasis on using non-invasive winery techniques so that the purest possible fruit can be expressed. Wine maker Constanza Schwaderer concentrates on working in the vineyard in order to optimize the quality of the grapes produced. This is evident in this fruit-driven wine.

The clue's in the name: Barefoot Wine Company. Cathy Marshall set up her 'garage' winemaking outfit (i.e. cellars on a rental basis; bijou output) in 1997 with a view to vinifying prized parcels of fruit wherever she found them, hence BWC's nomadic progress from Franschhoek to Swartland to Paarl. Her iconoclastic range formerly focused solely on reds; this welcome Sauvignon addition has elegant, vibrant flavours of gooseberries, fresh cut grass, asparagus and lime peel.

The 35 acres of this family wine estate of Domdechant Werner is run by the urbane Dr Franz Werner Michel and his daughter Catharina Mauritz – whose family have owned it since 1780. Based on the edge of the picturesque village of Hochheim in the Rheingau, (which gave the name Hock to all Rhine wines), the vineyards, planted mostly to Riesling (98%), are planted on mineral-rich, gently sloping, south facing, chalk-dominant soils. Studies have shown that 85% of the estate's vineyards are eligible for the 'Erstes Gewächs' status, which are effectively First Growth classification. This is an historic estate, making exceptionally pure, racy Rieslings – in the traditional, time-honoured fashion.

Winemaker Randall Grahm is more creative than most when it comes to labelling his wines and this is no exception. He loves to experiment with 'underdog' grape varieties and transforms them into wines of note. This Muscat is made from biodynamically grown grapes in the Bonny Doon outpost in Monterey County.

Leaving behind careers in medicine and molecular biology, Doctors John and Brigid Forrest established Forrest Estate in Marlborough's stony Wairau River Valley in 1989. This cheery pair won a coup at their first vintage, scooping a trophy at NZ's national wine awards. Unstopable, they have forged on to become one of the most innovative and reliably good of NZ's top wineries.