Are you of legal drinking age in your country of residence?
Are you of legal drinking age in your country of residence?
The great stories and people that make up the New Zealand wine industry.
Ben Leen never tires of the view at Amisfield, where audacious guinea fowl strut the grounds against a backdrop of organic vines and the snow-capped Pisa Range.
Suraj GC never planned to be a sommelier, and he didn’t just become one, but rather he became New Zealand’s best when he was crowned New Zealand’s Sommelier of the Year for 2024.
It says a lot about Paul Mooney that the most satisfying vintage in more than four decades at Mission Estate was the cyclone-struck 2023 season.
Grant Taylor’s winemaking career owes its genesis to a bunch of pesky worms. Without them, the fruit on his family’s apple tree might never have yielded such formative, jeopardy-rich beverage adventures.
Rowan Hoskins has found his niche in Wairarapa-based viticulture. He got started in the wine industry when he found himself at somewhat of a loose end and his father – distinguished viticulturist Nick Hoskins – suggested he try his hand at winter pruning. “I did a season and never left,” says Rowan.
Michael was only 12 when he decided he would become a winemaker, carrying on the legacy of his family’s West Auckland vineyard and winery. “I think mum sat me down and said, ‘look you have everything here’,” Michael says more than 50 years on, having forged an extraordinary global reputation for Kumeu River Wines.
A self-confessed “nerd” with a penchant for policy and a passion for sociology has been recognised for his commitment to New Zealand’s wine industry.
When Nick Hoskins took up an apprenticeship with the Wellington Parks Department aged 17, he was simply keen on a job outdoors. But that foray into nursery production, botanic gardens, and sports field maintenance proved fortuitous for New Zealand’s wine industry.
