I’m the king of the winners...
THIS shot of an apparently upside-down orangutan was top of the tree in the World Nature Photography Awards.
Bangalore-born Thomas Vijayan spent hours up in the forest canopy hoping a Borneo great ape would swing by.
One did – and Thomas took this snap, with the sky reflected in water.
Other award winners included London’s Nick Dale in the portraits category for his Bengal tiger in India’s Tadoba Andhari Reserve.
Awards co-founder Adrian Dinsdale said entries remind us to protect nature.
WOMEN are taking over the world of wine! Female producers are making waves and creating some absolutely stunning wines. So it’s a pleasure to feature a women-led column ahead of InternationalWomen’s Day on Monday.Vitalie Taittinger, current president of the historic French Champagne house, says: “There are more opportunities in every business now for women. Champagne is no different.We have women in all disciplines from viticulture and winemaking to export, sales and marketing.There are no boundaries.”
Taittinger is the first Champagne house to plant vines in the UK (in Chilham, Kent) in a joint venture with wine agents Hatch Mansfield.Vitalie adds: “I learn something new every day about the fascinating world of Champagne and the challenges we face. The way of getting into wine is very long.You have many things to learn, understand, and turn your hand too. It has to be a passion!”
Helen Morrison, chief Marlborough winemaker at Villa Maria, one of New Zealand’s most prestigious producers, agrees. “Multi-tasking is the name of the game, especially during the harvest when there are so many chores at the same time,” she says. “There are many romantic ideas about winemaking, most of it is physical hard work, but it’s the camaraderie of working with fellow-minded people and the excitement of crafting individual wines with their own characters that balances this out.” Let’s raise a glass this week to brilliant women winemakers. Enjoy some stunning examples below.