Nick Lamain's first Marlborough Young Winemaker competition was a wake-up call that would transform his life.
Having founded three wineries, sold two, and put the 21st vintage of Wild Irishman into barrel, Central Otago winemaking pioneer Alan Brady could choose to put his feet up.
From genetic researchers and bioinformaticians to plant pathologists and data scientists, Emma Jenkins talks to some of the women helping shape the future of New Zealand wine.
In a classic story of poacher turned gamekeeper, Rex Sunde ditched a career in agrichemicals to help New Zealand winegrowers minimise their spray use.
For the past 35 years, Philip Gregan has helped select New Zealand Winegrowers Fellows, working with the board to choose a cohort of extraordinary industry champions.
Lynnette Hudson's 30-year obsession with Pinot Noir was sparked working vintage in Burgundy, seeing how subtle changes in terroir were expressed in the glass. It was, she says, "an elightening moment in every way".
Winemaking and photography each require an understanding of science, says Kevin Judd. But the final product is judged by someone else’s senses, “so they’re both an art”.
Sir Sam Neill made an extraordinary mark on the world, and on the world of New Zealand wine.
Virginie Le Brun says home base is the greatest strength of her family’s winery, particularly in tough times.
When Philip Gregan joined New Zealand's wine industry in July 1983, he was wondering what he'd like to do for a career.
There's a particular type of winemaker who likes to do things quietly, letting quality do the talking, waiting for the right people to find their wines. Dom Maxwell is one of them.
New Zealand's wine industry lost a beloved winemaker, mentor, colleague and friend earlier this year. Five decades after James Healy was lured into the wine world by food and wine gatherings at university, his daughter Sophie McGill pays homage to an extraordinary life and enduring legacy.
You'll be hard-pressed to find a more emphatic tribute to family than the one Jenny Dobson conveys via her Hawke's Bay wines.
Morven McAuley has never been particularly interested in wine as an object of reverence.
When Ashleigh Barrowman landed in Marlborough a decade ago, she was convinced the wine tanks that dotted the landscape were hiding dairy secrets.
In the acknowledgements section of her Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme report, Jess Wilson thanks those who’ve supported her many endeavours. “Even when I say, ‘this is the last one’ when invariably it never is.”
Sixty years after a wine book hijacked Ivan and Chris Donaldson’s medical careers, 50 years after they pioneered winegrowing in North Canterbury, and 40 years after they planted Pegasus Bay, the third of their four sons, Ed, talks of the privilege and passion of working in the family business.
Anna Kelland was 7 years old when she announced she would be a winemaker, planning for a career that would make her parents happy.
Pioneering Gisborne winery Matawhero Wines is marking half a century of influence in New Zealand's modern wine story.
Tucked away in the chalky hills of Weka Pass, Bell Hill is much more than a vineyard; it's an ongoing conversation between people, soil, and commitment.
Auckland University master's student Rebecca Strange presented her research into Saccharomyces cerevisiae at the New Zealand Wine Centre Scientific Research Conference in Blenheim in June, and was named runner up in the Best Student Award. She shares some insights into her thesis.
Five regional finalists are honing their skills for the national final of the 2025 Young Viticulturist of the Year, to be held at Greystone in Waipara on 27 August.
Dr Richard Smart spent more than 55 years advising students, growers and organisations around the world on vine physiology and canopy management.
Jenny Dobson was 22 and blissfully naïve when she left New Zealand for France in 1979, with a chemistry degree, a love of wine and an ambition to become a winemaker.
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