New Zealand Wine in a Post-COVID World

Lead Master - David Keck MS
Resident NZ Master - Emma Jenkins MW
With - John Szabo MS & Ronan Sayburn MS

WHAT TO EXPECT

In Session One of the Wine Diaries, we discussed the powerhouse grape of Sauvignon Blanc in its many forms. Session Two covered the Burgundian varieties of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with their amazing expressions throughout the two islands. In Session Three it is time to look to the future and where the pioneering and entrepreneurial spirit of New Zealand winegrowing will take us next in the constantly evolving wine landscape.

We will focus on new grape varieties that are gaining traction or deserve more recognition. We’ll look at more nascent regions with exciting futures. We’ll dive into where this country with such diversity of climate and viticultural possibility might be heading. We will also discuss where we see the wines of New Zealand best positioned on wine lists, in retail, and in the global markets as we see all of this shift dramatically in the ever-so-confusing year of 2020. Tune in as John Szabo, MS logs on in Canada, Ronan Sayburn, MS, in London, and David Keck, MS in the United States are joined by Emma Jenkins, MW, from New Zealand. 

THE MASTERS

David Keck MS - David was most recently a partner in Houston’s Goodnight Hospitality group. He has just returned to his home state of Vermont to explore new pursuits in the beverage industry. When not talking about New Zealand wine, David can be found whispering words of encouragement to his sourdough starter, Milton, and pruning Apple trees in northern Vermont.

John Szabo MS - Canada’s first Master Sommelier, author, presenter and critic with WineAlign.com, (former) intrepid traveller, and fanatic of racy, cool climate wines. John speaks 5 languages, but has promised to present mostly in English.  When not tasting wine, he can be found drinking wine and chopping wood in his wine country farmhouse in Prince Edward County (not in that order).

Ronan Sayburn MS - Ronan Sayburn is a Master Sommelier and currently Head of Wine at wine lovers haven 67 Pall Mall in London, plus CEO for the Court of Master Sommeliers Europe. When not doing something with wine, Ronan can be found deep diving shipwrecks off the south coast of England. He finds it best to keep the two pursuits very separate.

Emma Jenkins MW - Emma tastes, writes, judges, teaches, consults and thinks about wine, both in New Zealand and abroad. When not doing this, she spends her time chasing children and animals around an overgrown garden. She also used to travel a lot.