“You can’t really get more significant than beating Champagne,” said Virginie Le Brun, marketing manager at Number One Family Estate and daughter of its founder. For the first time, a New Zealand winemaker has taken out a world championship title for the best sparkling wine: over the weekend, Marlborough’s Number One Family Estate accepted the top award for its Brut NV at the Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships in London, 1News reported.
The victory caps a bet placed more than 45 years ago, when French-born winemaker Daniel Le Brun put down roots in Marlborough and decided to make sparkling wine there. At the time, no one else in the region was doing it. Both his family in France’s Champagne region and local Marlborough residents doubted the plan. “That’s when I inherited the nickname of a crazy Frenchman, because I was still doing things different,” he said.
Three Points That Define the Marlborough Win
- It is the first world championship title for best sparkling wine won by a New Zealand producer, taken at the Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships in London.
- The winning Brut NV comes from an estate built on a single-minded, 45-year focus on traditional sparkling wine methods brought from France.
- The win validates a craft approach — hand-harvested fruit, a small team and meticulous detail — over volume production.
How a “Crazy Frenchman” Built the Category in Marlborough
Le Brun stuck to the traditional methods he had been taught in France, importing equipment from there when it was not available in New Zealand. “I’ve known for years that our wines would stack up against Champagne,” he said. Even so, the latest accolade surprised him. “It came you know as a bolt out of the blue, really,” he said.
Marcus Pickens, general manager of Wine Marlborough, described Le Brun as the father of modern sparkling wine in New Zealand. “The vision that he’s shown and the dedication to stick to that, solely, I think is really special,” Pickens said. “There’s not many people that have that single vision and then just pursue it for their whole career.”
Why the Craft Method Made the Difference in London
Number One Family Estate winemaker Lee Dobson said staying devoted to the craft of sparkling wine making is what sets the company apart. “We’re very hands-on, hand-harvested, small team, meticulous detail, you know,” Dobson said. “We’re not making huge quantities, and we’re putting all of our energy and love into this wine.”
Virginie Le Brun called the award recognition of the earlier work. “It’s really the realisation of a dream that Daniel had way back when and, absolutely, all the more so for all of us as a team,” she said.
| Detail | Fact |
|---|---|
| Winning producer | Number One Family Estate, Marlborough, New Zealand |
| Winning wine | Brut NV |
| Award | Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships, London |
| Significance | First world championship title for best sparkling wine won by a New Zealand winemaker |
| Estate history | Founded by French-born Daniel Le Brun more than 45 years ago |
What the Trophy Signals for New Zealand Wine
The result places Marlborough’s sparkling wine — doubted by Le Brun’s own family and neighbors — on the same competitive stage as the Champagne region that inspired it. For an industry that began with one winemaker importing French equipment, the London title confirms a conviction held for more than four decades.
