New Zealand Wine Sommit™

Industry Event Only

UPDATE - Due to the global impact of COVID-19 and the implications for the international on-premise community, the New Zealand Wine Sommelier Scholarship has been postponed this year. This is very much a postponement at this stage, not a cancellation, and we look forward to welcoming the next cohort of international "Sommiteers" to New Zealand as soon as it is possible from a global travel perspective, and of course as soon as the on-premise community has recovered from the effects of COVID-19. At this stage, we intend to open applications in early to mid 2021, for a Sommit™ experience in 2022. Thank you to those sommeliers who have already applied for this year's programme. Applications received thus far will be considered for the 2021 intake, and contacted to resubmit their applications.

“The Post-Sommit Blues are very real. I really cannot express how grateful I am for the experience. It was everything.”

The New Zealand Wine Sommelier Scholarship provides engaged wine professionals from all over the world with the opportunity to take part in an unforgettable wine experience, discovering the regions, varieties, landscapes and personalities that make New Zealand wine so distinctly New Zealand.

Shepherded by New Zealand sommeliers, Cameron Douglas MS and Stephen Wong MW, attended exclusively by sommeliers and targeted exclusively to their interests, the Sommit™ is an all-encompassing celebration of the lesser known aspects of New Zealand wine, with particular emphasis on the facets that resonate with the sommelier community.

It's also crazy fun.

The scholarship will include:

• Attendance at the New Zealand Wine Sommit™
• Attendance at the New Zealand Aromatics Symposium or the New Zealand Classic Reds Symposium
• Attendance at Pinot Noir New Zealand
• Wine experiences and tastings in regions across New Zealand, providing winemaker interaction and invaluable discussion and debate opportunities with international peers
• International and domestic flights, accommodation, meals, transfers, event registrations and all event inclusions

Candidates are expected to have an obsession for all things wine, and a particular hankering for knowledge of New Zealand wine.

“Sommit was without a doubt the most incredible experience of my professional life. Not only was it fun and informative and adventurous, it personified the New Zealand wine industry through gracious hosts, serious winemakers and a level of playful uniqueness that won’t ever be forgotten.”

For any queries with regard to the New Zealand Wine International Sommelier Scholarship and New Zealand Wine Sommit™, please contact Felicity Turner - New Zealand Winegrowers Market Implementation & Education Manager: felicity@nzwine.com