Young Vintner: Bryn Craddock

30 May 2022

Bryn Craddock is a Bachelor of Viticulture and Wine Science student at EIT Te Pūkenga, and the most recent Hawke’s Bay A&P Society & Craggy Range Young Vintner of the Year - a win that was the result of hard work by 25-year-old Bryn, who enrolled in the EIT Bachelor of Viticulture and Wine Science in 2020. However, wine was not on her radar as a career as she was growing up.

 

Born in Wellington, Bryn spent most of her life in Pennsylvania, US, where her family still lives, and her plan was always to return home.

“After I finished school, I came down here for a while and ended up teaching snowboarding for a couple of years.”

Then after a few years of following the northern and southern hemisphere winters, Bryn decided it was time to study, and came to Hawke’s Bay.

“My sister was working in the restaurant at Craggy Range at the time and she told me about the degree at EIT.”

“I grew up as a dancer, so was always interested in that more creative side. I have always enjoyed science as well. And this just seemed like a really cool mixture of both.”

Bryn says that what attracted her to EIT’s Bachelor of Viticulture and Wine Science was that it is a “mixture of creativity and science”.

“I grew up as a dancer, so was always interested in that more creative side. I have always enjoyed science as well. And this just seemed like a really cool mixture of both.”

Bryn says that while she enjoys the viticulture side of the industry, she is finding that she has more of an interest in winemaking.

“I am definitely not opposed to working in viticulture because it’s great being able to grow the grapes and get the flavours and quality you want. But I do enjoy winemaking with the blending and getting the product to where you want it to be.”

As for the future, this young vintner plans to stay in the Hawke’s Bay before heading to Europe to learn even more about her craft.

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