Small Business Project: Wine connoisseur brings tastings to private parties
Monday, 20 April 2026
The Small Business Project is a weekly series that shines the spotlight on Kiwi small businesses doing interesting and unusual things in their industries.
Wine lover and connoisseur Nicky Donaldson has set up a passion project that sees her hosting wine tastings for private events and parties. Christchurch-based Donaldson tells Aimee Shaw how disruption caused by conflict in the Middle East will affect the global wine industry, and the role she hopes her business can play in the declining alcohol consumption rate.
What has your venture set out to achieve?
I initially established NV Wines in 2023 as a corporate wine-tasting venture. I bring private wine tasting and wineries to workplaces, homes and functions such as dinner parties, hen dos and back-garden BBQs. I find there's not a lot of competition in this space, and started the business as a solution to a gap in the market I came across when I was trying to find a vendor for my husband’s 50th birthday.
We do a couple of events each month at this stage, and my motivations are to take the pretentiousness away from wine and get people to explore wine and understand the stories. Wine should just be enjoyed, rather than all the snobbery that can often revolve around it.
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How much time and money have you invested?
I work 20 hours on this each week, outside my fulltime job. I've been able to support the business financially by using my own funds and doing a few wine contracts.
What’s the biggest challenge your business is facing?
Getting the pricing right is really important because of the high cost of living. Wine feels like a a dying art form and I really want to share the story behind the bottle of wine. I am getting bookings coming through steadily, but generally the drinking of wine and other alcohol is declining and young people are drinking less of it. I think it is important to share the stories behind these products so people see it as not just drinking alcohol, but understand all the work that goes into making a bottle of wine.
What’s the biggest issue affecting your industry right now?
Weather is always a huge factor. There have been seasons where over 100,000 tonnes of grapes have been left on vines or fed to the birds because conditions and demand simply haven’t lined up. On top of that, there are global pressures like new tariffs from the US, and wine consumption sitting at its lowest level in more than 20 years. This isn’t just a New Zealand issue, it’s a global one.
The big question is whether this is a blip or a long-term trend. If it’s a trend, then we need to adapt and work out new strategies. The important thing is that we’re talking about it openly, which means the industry is aware and engaged rather than in denial.
What disruption or flow on impacts has the oil shock and the Middle East conflict had on the wine industry?
My business hasn’t been impacted directly, but it is definitely impacting the industry. Wine is a luxury item and this is pushing up the prices further in what is already a high cost of living situation. It is something that will be affecting the big distributors. It will correct itself, everything does. The only problem is the cost of living, so everything now gets put back onto the consumer, so we have to put our prices up. I will have to put my prices up too eventually.
What’s next for NV Wines?
Building visibility and brand awareness is a big focus to get people to understand exactly what I do. That includes more premium bespoke experiences, chef collaborations and higher-end events in the $300 to $500 per head range. I already work closely with chefs to create wine pairings that are written specifically for their menus, rather than generic wine matches, and I want to expand that side of the business further.
Longer term, I want to make curated wine lists for restaurants and hospitality venues, wine tours both in New Zealand and overseas, and continuing to tell the stories behind wine brands properly, because making wine is hard and those stories matter. I want to provide add-ons to tastings; being a wine buyer, wine list creator, educator, and overall information as a wine expert.
In three years’ time you will be …
I’d love to have a small team working together to deliver premium wine experiences, including running wine tours in New Zealand and overseas, offering more bespoke, high-end events with chef collaborations, and curating wine lists for restaurants and hospitality venues.
What’s one thing you wish you’d known before starting the business?
How quickly momentum can build once things start working, and how important it is to put simple systems in place early on. I’ve also learned that you don’t need everything perfectly figured out before you start a business. Like winemaking, you learn by doing, adjusting and improving as you go.
Most helpful piece of advice you’ve received?
The most helpful advice, even if it wasn’t said directly, is that hands-on experience matters more than theory. You can read all the books you like, but until you actually do the work, you don’t really understand it. That mindset shapes how I approach wine education and business, staying grounded, honest and always learning.
If you would like your business to feature in The Small Business Project, email Aimee Shaw at aimee.shaw@stuff.co.nz