Associate Prof Richard Mitchell, from the polytechnic's school of hospitality, received recognition from the prestigious International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) - an international jury of wine experts - for a chapter he contributed to award-winning scientific wine book The Business of Champagne - A Delicate Balance.
Prof Mitchel's chapter looked at the ongoing marketing strategy capitalising on the mythology of the Champagne region. He gathered his data through multiple visits, tours, tastings and both informal and formal interviews.
''In a way, they invented modern marketing in the 1850s, by attaching stories and importance to the product.
''They use lots of contradictions, so they talk about hand-crafted, when they are producing millions and millions of bottles. At any one time, there are a billion bottles of Champagne fermenting away underground,'' he said.
The success the region had meant drinking a glass of Champagne was as much about consuming the myth or the story as it was about drinking a type of wine.
''You are buying into the story; the story is about the place; it's about celebration.''
This did not mean the reduction of the uniqueness of the product, and there was ''some truth'' to the fact that Champagne had a particular style.
The region was also fiercely protective of the brand.
''Champenois' [the people of the Champagne region] continued vigilance to withstand any invasion from the outside or to have their brand sullied or stolen by any other outsiders is legendary,'' Prof Mitchell said yesterday.
New Zealand winemakers and other producers could learn from the Champagne region's marketing success.
''New Zealand has its own story. New Zealand wines very strongly push the clean green pure story.''
Prof Mitchell said he would not be travelling to Paris to receive the award, but was ''pretty stoked'' to be recognised.
