NZ Fellow: Dr Richard Smart
Dr Richard Smart began shining a light on grape growing in the late 1960s, increasingly fascinated by how sunlight interception by vineyards impacted yields and fruit quality.
In May 2022 New Zealand Winegrowers kickstarted a global petition for the inclusion of a glass of white wine on global petition for the inclusion of a glass of white wine on global keyboards, to partner the red already there. New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) General Manager Marketing Charlotte Read says it made an official request to the Unicode Consortium a few months later, but the request was declined with no explanation as to why. "Our keyboards are still devoid of an emoji that has huge support and demand."
In 2018 there was a push for the Kiwi bird emoji to be added to the emoji lexicon, which was also declined by the consortium, Charlotte says. "When it comes to emojis, it seems to be hard for the Kiwis. We can't seem to get our national bird, or our most famous wine export, recognised."
Juliana Foster, NZW Global PR Manager, says advocating for a white wine emoji is not just about keyboard representation. "It's also about shining a spotlight on New Zealand white wine and recognising the diversity of wine that New Zealand produces."
Another attempt will be made to secure the white wine emoji next year when the two-year grace period ends. In the meantime, the public can express how they feel about the missing white wine emoji online, and these submissions will be used to advance the case in 2024.
