Changemaker: ‘Old vit’ toast of wine industry

‘‘But you’re never too old to learn, and that’s how I plan to continue. ’’

The Young Viticulturist competition has been ‘‘the driving force and making of my career’’, says Marlborough’s Tahryn Mason, who won the national title last month.

The Villa Maria vineyard supervisor has four regional competitions and two wins under his belt, having started out in the Auckland/Northern competition in 2019.

‘‘I have treated it as a real learning opportunity every single year,’’ he says.

‘‘Trying to learn from my mistakes and plug the gaps in my knowledge has really driven me to work hard to become better.’’

Because he is now 30, the 2022 Corteva Young Viticulturist of the Year – held at Indevin’s Bankhouse in Marlborough on August 30 – was Tahryn’s last opportunity to take the national title.

‘‘Now that I am technically aged out of the competition I guess I am an old vit,’’ he says the day after his win in the competition.

‘‘But you’re never too old to learn, and that’s how I plan to continue.’’

The viticulturist works at Villa Maria’s Seaspray Cluster – four vineyards in the Awatere Valley, two of which are organic – and is passionate about future proofing winegrowing by making it more resilient, using innovative adaptations to prepare for challenges, rather than reactive responses when they come.

Continuing to build his own knowledge base is part of that growth.

‘‘Making myself more resilient and adaptive to change as well.’’

Tahryn will go on to represent the wine industry in the 2023 Young Horticulturist of the Year competition.

This article first appeared in a magazine and is republished with permission.