Jacob Nooyen said the younger generation of wine drinkers want their beverage to have a story
A world-beating Pinot Gris has put Vilagrad Winery in the spotlight, but generations of family farming, grape growing and storytelling continue to drive the Ngāhinapōuri business, writes Jesse Wood.
Vilagrad in Ngāhinapōuri was once a dairy farm but now produces award-winning wines. Photo: Supplied
Tradition has underpinned Vilagrad Winery for generations. The Ngāhinapōuri winery recently claimed a major international accolade, with its 2025 Pinot Gris winning gold at the International Wine & Spirit Competition in London.
King Country Farmer July 2026
Producing premium wine grapes in the Waikato presents its own challenges, with growers working around seasonal frosts, rainfall and changing weather patterns to achieve consistent quality.
“We’ve won over 120 awards for the wines that have been produced here on site in the Waikato,” fourth-generation Vilagrad winemaker and grape grower Jacob Nooyen says.
“People think we’re buying the grapes in and making them here. No, these are wines that have been grown, produced and made here.”
The family’s connection to the land dates back more than 100 years.
After emigrating from Croatia, founder Ivan Milicich Snr began growing grapes on his Ngāhinapōuri dairy farm and obtained a licence to make and sell wine in 1922.
Five generations later, the family remains hands-on in both the vineyard and winery.
The International Wine & Spirit Competition attracts more than 12,000 entries from more than 90 countries and is regarded as one of the world’s most respected wine competitions.
The beverages are judged by a panel of leading international wine and spirit experts.
Vilagrad recently won big at the “Olympics of wine competitions” in London. From left, Pieter, Nelda and son Jacob Nooyen. Photo: Supplied
“The results came through and I realised we were the only one that had been awarded a gold,” Jacob says. “The gold award is rare – it hasn’t been given to anyone for about five years. That means it’s even more valuable.
“In previous years, we’ve had two bronzes. The standout one for us was a silver medal for the dry Pinot Gris 2021. That was the highest awarded silver and there were no golds.
“It’s incredible. It’s an honour to receive such a prestigious prize. It was a very pleasant surprise.”
Jacob says it’s neat to have the accolades to go alongside their hard work. Now it’s time to push into overseas markets.
“We’ve always done well in the national competitions. That’s where most of the awards come from. It wasn’t until recently that I decided to start entering them into the London competition,” Jacob says.
“To have that come back tenfold, it shows the consistency of producing Pinot Gris here in the Waikato.
“My ideal situation would be to head over to the awards dinner in November and make some serious contacts overseas that can help us with distribution in the UK.”
Once distribution in the UK has been sorted, social media will play a big part in breaking their story to the world.
In a very diluted market with storied wines from the likes of France, Italy, Germany and Austria, it’s important to have a point of difference and to keep with the times.
Their online presence will help them get through to the next generation of wine connoisseurs across the globe.
“The social media aspect in general is playing a huge part in our business now on both fronts, restaurant and winery,” Jacob says.
“There’s a world of knowledge to learn.
“You can target your markets, you can target what demographic, what region. It’s mind boggling, but it’s something that we have to start really incorporating into our business for the future to be successful.
“You can see the engagement on those and then act accordingly.”
Social media is helping disprove the myth that “Gen Z” and “millennials” are drinking less wine.
“There is less consumption worldwide of bulk supermarket wines,” Jacob says.
“The younger generations are purchasing fewer bottles of wine but buying more wine of a higher quality.
Jacob, Adam and Kristian Nooyen – the 3 Brothers – with their late Croatian grandmother Vesna Milicich who died in January 2020. Photo: Supplied
“If they go out for dinner, or have friends around for dinner, they’ll take the time to purchase a bottle that has a great story.
“That suits us fantastically. We have a great story and we have the family behind it.
“Whereas the more generic wine – that people want to pay less for and drink three bottles of – doesn’t have that background story or history.
“That’s why it’s so important to get the recognition for these awards and use social media marketing to our advantage.”
TikTok and video reels are helping showcase the winery and its wines.
“It’s been quite exciting because that visual plays a huge part in painting that picture of the product,” Jacob says.
Fourth-generation Vilagrad winemaker and grape grower Jacob Nooyen. Photo: Jesse Wood
“It has been very helpful in the last couple of years. We’re up to five generations here and my kids helped pick the grapes for this award-winning wine.
“Every year, all the family is involved, the brothers, the uncles and aunties help. It’s a real family affair.”
Like many farmers, the Nooyen family’s day can start before sunrise checking conditions in the vineyard during critical growing periods.
“We’ve shared videos of getting up to see the frost, right through to videos of us all picking grapes together.
“That’s our business model, that’s how we portray ourselves and that’s worked well for the restaurant here as well because it’s a family environment.”
Jacob and his brothers, Kristian and Adam, hope the next generation will continue to help grow the business – in the vines and on the web – as they have alongside parents Nelda and Pieter.
“Hopefully some of our nieces and nephews, sons or daughters will take over one day. That’s the plan,” Jacob says.
“Well, they have to – we’ll make them.”
From Ngāhinapōuri to London, Vilagrad continues to make a name for itself and it’s only the beginning of their international journey.
Jacob Nooyen said the younger generation of wine drinkers want their beverage to have a story, that suits Vilagrad down to the ground. Photo: Jesse Wood
