Congratulations to Heath Miller for becoming the 2026 Ormond Nurseries Hawke’s Bay Young Viticulturist of the Year on 11 June. The 26-year-old is Assistant Vineyard Manager at Pask Vineyard, based in the Gimblett Gravels.
This is the third time he has entered the competition, highlighting his determination to take out the prestigious title. Finally, the hard work has paid off.
“We love seeing contestants come back year after year,” says Nicky Grandorge, Leadership & Communities Manager at New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW). “It highlights the passion they have to progress themselves and the importance of the competition.”
Congratulations also to Thomas Mackenzie from Indevin who came second and Thalia Osborne from Ash Ridge Wines, who came third. Thomas also won the Ecotrellis trellising section, plus the Ormond Nurseries Professional Reputation Award for his all-around positivity, personal growth, and ambition. In fact, he was the first person in the country to register for the 2026 competitions, back in January.
Thalia represented Hawke’s Bay in the 2025 Young Winemaker national final, demonstrating the breadth of her skills and knowledge in both viticulture and winemaking.
The competition took place under clear blue skies at Selaks, with a large crowd gathering for the head-to-head Ecotrellis trellising section and the BioStart Hortisports, which was taken out by Harrison Roil from Unison Vineyards. This was followed by a delicious lunch provided by Fruitfed Supplies.
The contestants rotated around various other sections, including irrigation, data & analysis, an interview, pest & disease, machinery, and the Syngenta Biologicals Nutrition section, which was won by Harsh Bhagran.
The other contestants, Ross Graham and Mikaela Salmon, also did themselves proud, tackling the challenges with gusto in their first year taking part in the competition.
The day finished with them delivering their insightful speeches at the Awards dinner held at the historic Mission Estate.
Heath will now go through to the National Final to compete against the winners from the North Island Regional, Marlborough, South Island Regional, and Central Otago competitions. The National Final will be held at Escarpment, Wairarapa, on Wednesday, 26 August, and the 2026 Ormond Nurseries New Zealand Young Viticulturist of the Year will be announced at the New Zealand Wine 2026 Celebration Dinner at Takina Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre, in Wellington, on 27 August.
From this regional competition, Heath won a Fruitfed Supplies Field Trip plus $1,000 and will compete for even greater prizes at the National Final. These include a $6,000 Ecotrellis Travel Grant, a Leadership Week, and tickets to Sauvignon Blanc New Zealand 2027 and the 2027 Organic Winegrowers Conference.
As well as cash, Thomas also won an educational trip from The New Zealand Society for Viticulture and Oenology (NZSVO).
The competition is made possible thanks to the following generous national sponsors: Ormond Nurseries, BioStart, Ecotrellis, Syngenta Biologicals, Fruitfed Supplies, Constellation Brands, Empak, Fendt, Indevin, Klima, Lowe, Waterforce, NZSVO, and New Zealand Winegrowers, as well as all the supportive regional sponsors.
-Ends-
For further information contact:
Nicky Grandorge
Leadership & Communities Manager, New Zealand Winegrowers,
+64 21 780 948
Nicky.Grandorge@nzwine.com
View the Young Viticulturist website here.
New Zealand Winegrowers' images can be found here.
EDITOR NOTES:
NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWERS
New Zealand Winegrowers is the national organisation for the country's grape and wine sector, with over 600 grower members, 700 winery members, and directly employing over 7,000 New Zealanders each year. nzwine.com
NEW ZEALAND WINE
New Zealand wine is exported to more than 100 countries
New Zealand produces just over 1% of the world’s wine
New Zealand wine is New Zealand’s sixth largest export good
New Zealand wine exports for 2024 were $2.1 billion
View reports and statistics here