Expanding the Scope of Sauvignon Blanc Vine Diversity in New Zealand - 2 February

Time: 8 am PST, 11 am EST, 4 pm GMT

New Zealand Winegrowers, together with the New Zealand government and industry partners, is using research into how plants adapt to external stress to produce a collection of diverse Sauvignon Blanc vines. Several thousand new vines are being grown and in the future will be screened for key traits using genetic sequencing and nursery trials. The hope is that future local winegrowers will be able to plant new types of locally-developed Sauvignon Blanc vines that improve the resilience, productivity, sustainability and quality of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. In this session, Dr Jamie Goode and Dr Darrell Lizamore discuss the project and its possibilities with Emma Marris of Marisco.

Speaker Profiles

Dr Jamie Goode

Jamie began his career by obtaining a PhD in plant biology and ended up becoming an internationally acknowledged wine writer, speaker and lecturer. He has been wine columnist for UK national newspaper The Sunday Express since 2005 and has published award winning books including Wine Science, Authentic Wine, I Taste Red and Flawless. He’s also a co-chair of the International Wine Challenge. He can be found on Instagram (@drjamiegoode) and Twitter (@jamiegoode) and since 1999 has been publishing wineanorak.com.

Dr Darrell Lizamore

Darrell leads New Zealand's grapevine improvement programme at the Bragato Research Institute. His team’s research focusses on ways to increase grapevine varietal diversity by altering environmental conditions, and screen these plants for traits that are better suited to future agricultural conditions.

Emma Marris

Emma was immersed from an early age in the New Zealand wine industry with her strong viticultural and winemaking family roots. Fond childhood memories of vintage in Marlborough riding harvesters and tasting ferments, combined with a passion for art and science, drove her decision to forge a career in the wine industry. A graduate from the University of Adelaide, Emma has gained overseas winemaking experience in France and the USA and since 2017 has been a part of the winemaking team at Marisco Vineyards. Emma has judged at wine shows both nationally and internationally and recently graduated with the WSET Diploma.

Emma and the Marisco team are passionate about the ongoing production of world-leading Sauvignon Blanc. They are connecting sustainability and innovation to push quality boundaries and deliver a consistent style consumers adore which will champion the Marlborough wine legacy for generations to come.