Wine tutorial promising for industry

THE inaugural Family of Twelve Wine Tutorial recently concluded in Hawke’s Bay.

The threeday educational programme, to be held biannually at member wineries around NZ, was open to 12 participants working with New Zealand wine, selected through an essay submission. This group will be some of the future educators, communicators and leaders in the industry.

Over three days, participants were treated to eight dazzling wine workshops moderated by Masters of Wine Michael Brajkovich and Emma Jenkins and a series of dinners showcasing the finest New Zealand wines from the Family of Twelve stable alongside benchmark examples from around the world.

While challenged to hone their tasting abilities, the participants drew on the accumulated knowledge of Family of Twelve members to further their education and understanding and, ultimately, to inspire them.

With parallels to the Len Evans Tutorial in Australia, this is a major innovation in the New Zealand wine industry and will create a growing cohort of ambassadors for New Zealand wine. This year’s Dux was Andres Aragon Perez, from the Merivale Group in Sydney, while the Institute of Masters of Wine prize went to Maciej Zimny, of Noble Rot Wine Bar in Wellington.

Queenstown somms upskill in Australia

Three Queenstown sommeliers recently travelled to Australia to join six other Kiwis in the NZ Sommelier Immersion Programme.

Eschewing the bigname regions of McLaren Vale and Barossa Valley, Englishborn Anna Krykunivsky, of Eichardts & The Grille, Americanborn Stephanie Maddox, of the Lodge Bar, and Chileanborn Marisol Caceres, of Blanket Bay, were hosted by Wine Australia on a sixday exploration of Macedon Ranges, Grampians and Coonawarra wine regions, along with a masterclass of top Australian wines at Langtons Wine Auctions.

‘‘An extraordinary highlight’’, said Anna, was the 1958 claret at Wynns in Coonawarra.