Pinot Noir NZ
Pinot Noir New Zealand 2025 will be held in Ōtautahi Christchurch from 11 to 13 February. Committee member Ben Leen, Winemaker at Amisfield in Central Otago, focuses his Pinot obsession on the upcoming event.
I’m really looking forward to… connecting over pre-drinks, post-drinks, and the everything in between! The conversations with winemakers, tastemakers and the guests who have the power to really, truly move the dial for New Zealand Pinot Noir on the international stage. This event is about reconnections and new connections. It’s been far too long since we’ve had the opportunity to get people excited about New Zealand Pinot Noir on our own, home soil.
Our committee is... Excited, ambitious, determined, maybe even a little nervous (nerves are good, it means you care!), but most importantly 100% committed to presenting a conference programme that will deliver inspiration with a very generous serving of the commercial realities needed to enhance New Zealand Pinot Noir’s reputation and value on the global stage. We know we make the best damn Pinot in the world. It’s time to remind people of that.
New Zealand Pinot Noir is... incredible in that it gives such a strong voice to place. Of course, you could say that about every Pinot producing nation, but there’s that extra 10% New Zealand has that I love, where every region has its own distinct personality. Maybe it’s our small, skinny landmass. Maybe it’s our maritime climate and soils. Maybe it’s our tenacious and innovative winemakers. Maybe it’s all the above. I’m not sure, but it’s definitely got the X-factor and Pinot Noir NZ 2025 is here to provide the stage.
One thing you should know about me is... I once had a business called Perfectly Rieslingable, such is my love for the Riesling grape. Of course, saying that out loud I feel like a complete traitor being on this committee, but I can assure you that I am just as much of a Pinot Noir tragic as I am for that ‘other’ grape!
