Nina Downer - Young Viticulturist of the Year

Her Central Otago wine career couldn’t be more different, rich with diversity and forged on a community of support, says the 2024 Young Viticulturist of the Year, who took out the title after a national final at Escarpment in Wairarapa in late August.

The final component of the competition was a speech at the Altogether Unique celebration dinner in Wellington, in which the Felton Road Vineyard Supervisor paid homage to the people she works with. “Central Otago is unique because of Bruce, the once nomad who leaves a trail of forgotten clothing wherever he goes,” she said. “The Raewyn, ex-postie who used to run a bed and breakfast in Africa; the Nicci who screams at the top of her lungs when a bee flies out at her from the vines; the Jia, ex-police officer and pastry chef; or the Gareth King, who runs a tight ship, but is really just a giant marshmallow.”

Nina says Bruce, Raewyn, Nicci, Jia and Gareth are just a handful of the people who have helped drive her career, including three regional Young Viticulturist titles, and now the national accolade. “They are constantly backing me, constantly quizzing and challenging me at work.”

Nina’s family moved to the Wairarapa when she was 16, and she soon shelved dreams of becoming a vet, deterred by the thought of euthanising animals. One of her teachers at high school in New Plymouth suggested she check out viticulture instead, tapping into the soil and plant sciences she had always enjoyed in a career based in the outdoors.

She researched viticulture and was sold, going on to Lincoln University’s viticulture and oenology degree, with summer holidays at Dry River Wines in Martinborough, where the work “really clicked”, confirming she was on the right track. When she finished her degree at the end of 2019, Nina worked with Dry River for a season, then joined Felton Road in Bannockburn. And she has no plans to move on any time soon. “They are just so supportive of me and have trained me up quite nicely and I still have so much to learn from them.” Next year she will go on to compete in the New Zealand Young Horticulturist of the Year, won by Felton Road’s Annabel Bulk in 2018, “so there’ll be lots of prep for that”.

Second place in the 2024 Young Viticulturist Competition went to Anna Kelland from Constellation Brands in Marlborough, while the 2024 Tonnellerie de Mercurey Young Winemaker of the Year title was won by Georgia Mehlhopt from Greystone Wines in North Canterbury, with the runner up Katie Cameron from Ata Rangi in Wairarapa. Having four women in the top spots is “bloody awesome”, says Nina, noting that Central Otago’s young viticulture competition tends to be dominated by women. “It is really cool to see us take out some of the top places and just shows that gender doesn’t have anything to do with whether you can succeed or not; we have proven that this year.”

Nina loves working with grapes, and with a network of people, from the soil to sales, in a business committed to organics, premium production, and climate change mitigation. In the future she sees herself continuing down a pathway of conscientious winegrowing, tapping into new technology, genetics and innovations to grow quality and reduce environmental impact. “I think it’s really important to be careful with what products we are using and giving back to the environment where we can… Trying to make sure it’s better off than when we found it.”