The manufacturer of a plane forced to crash land without its nose wheel in Blenheim has defended its safety record.

A plane carrying 44 people has safely made an emergency landing at Blenheim Airport, despite a nose wheel failure.

A sentence of home detention for a bar owner who killed a patron is a "mockery" to the family, the victim's father says.

The New Zealand pinot noir movement is gathering pace and the great and good of the wine world jetted in from Singapore, Stockholm and San Francisco last week to experience Central Otago's take on the grape.

New Zealand wines of genuine distinction and world class status are not legion, but they do exist. Some tick some of the boxes some of the time. A few seem to get it dead right most of the time.

Dust your bunny ears down, the Year of the Rabbit is upon us.

They are the grand old vessels of the sea - the ships of old, restored to full glory to sail Auckland's harbours once again, like they did more than a century ago.

One year on from his disappearance, police have renewed an appeal for information about a 19-year-old Nelson student.

Brown muscat and men called Keith share something in common - they don't sound very sexy. Nevertheless, I got hot under the collar about some new brown muscat plantings a few weeks ago.

Police and DOC investigations are continuing into the massacre of fur seals at Ohau Point, a popular seal viewing point 22km north of Kaikoura.

Roads and vehicles must be "more forgiving" to curb a road toll which averages more than one death a day, the AA says. Figures released by the Ministry of Transport today show 371 people died on the roads over the past year.

Christchurch's Boxing Day aftershocks and the recent wet weather have seen more than 1000 claims lodged with the Earthquake Commission.