Congratulations to Ruby McManaway from Yealands, Marlborough, who is the 2025 Tonnellerie de Mercurey Young Winemaker of the Year. Congratulations also to Anna Kelland from Constellation Brands, who is the 2025 Young Viticulturist of the Year.
The winners were announced at the New Zealand Wine 2025 Celebration Dinner held at Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre on Thursday, 28 August.
The Young Winemaker national finals were held on 26 August at Lincoln University, and the Young Viticulturist national finals were held at Greystone, Waipara, the following day.
Congratulations also to Nick Putt from Craggy Range, who was the runner-up in the Young Viticulturist finals and Georgia Mehlhopt from Greystone, who placed third. The other Young Viticulturists competing were Damon Lovell from Carrick and James Sutcliffe from Craggy Range, Wairarapa.
The other Young Winemakers were Dingying Jiang from Kahiwi and Thalia Osborne from Ash Ridge.
“It’s exciting to see so many talented young people coming through in both winemaking and viticulture”, says Nicky Grandorge, Leadership & Communities Manager at New Zealand Winegrowers. “They are passionate, talented and excited about being part of the New Zealand wine story. It’s very reassuring to know the future is in great hands”
The national finals represent a significant step up from the qualifying regional finals, and competitors were tested on the wide range of skills and knowledge required to be an aspiring winemaker or viticulturist.
For the Young Winemakers, this included the Constellation Brands Laboratory Section and the Indevin Wine Judging section, both of which were won by Ruby McManaway. They also gave a presentation comparing international sustainable wine programmes with the Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ) programme, which has been leading the way for 30 years. They finished by delivering their Fruitfed Supplies speeches at the Celebration Dinner. This was also won by Ruby McManaway.
The challenges for the Young Viticulturists included trellising, machinery, an interview and a mock vineyard tour to discuss soil, nutrition and hot topics in the wine industry. They also undertook some research to find a gap for potential innovations in viticulture. They went head-to-head in the BioStart Hortisports and finally delivered their speeches to a large industry crowd at the New Zealand Wine 2025 Wine Business Forum on 28 August.
Anna won an amazing prize package including a $6,000 Ecotrellis Travel Grant, a Leadership week, some Infaco Electrocoup secateurs worth $3,000 and tickets to the Cool Climate Symposium in January.
Georgia Mehlhopt won best research report and presentation; Nick Putt won the Ecotrellis Best Trelliser, and James Sutcliffe the BioStart Hortisports.
Ruby McManaway won both the Constellation Brands Laboratory Section and the Indevin Wine Judging Section in the Young Winemaker competition.
As overall winner, Ruby also won some amazing prizes and experiences, including a trip to Burgundy to visit the Tonnellerie de Mercurey (cooperage), be an Associate Judge at the New World Wine Awards and review some wines in Drinks Biz Magazine.
Fruitfed are providing a field trip for all the Young Viticulturist and Winemaker finalists as one of their prizes.
As the Young Viticulturist of the Year celebrates its 20th anniversary, this also makes Anna Kelland the 20th winner. The occasion will be marked with a celebration in Martinborough on 25 September and includes a symposium, dinner and field trip, bringing previous winners, alumni and the whole Young Viticulturist community together.
The competitions are made possible thanks to many volunteers and the generosity of sponsors.
Young Winemaker: Tonnellerie de Mercurey, Fruitfed Supplies, Constellation Brands, Indevin, FMG, Lab Supply, Laffort, Tira Crown, Visy, Winejobsonline, New World, New Zealand Winegrowers, The New Zealand Society for Viticulture & Oenology (NZSVO), and Pacific Rim Oenology.
Young Viticulturist: BioStart, Ecotrellis, Ford, Fruitfed Supplies, Agritrade, Clemens, Constellation Brands, Delegat, Empak, Fendt, Indevin, Klima, Ormond Nurseries, Roots, Shoots & Fruits, Waterforce, NZSVO, New Zealand Winegrowers, and Winejobsonline.
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For further information or photos contact:
Nicky Grandorge
Leadership & Communities Manager, New Zealand Winegrowers,
021780948
nicky.grandorge@nzwine.com
View the Young Winemaker website here.
View the Young Viticulturist website here.
New Zealand Winegrowers images can be found here.