Winetopia presented by Singapore Airlines, NZ’s biggest celebration of wine, has had the opportunity to work with a wealth of New Zealand winemakers over the past seven years. While it’s difficult to single out just a few (or to list them all) this International Women’s Day we wanted to shine a spotlight on some of the inspirational women who work hard every day of the year to keep our glasses full.
Starting off in Marlborough, Tamra Kelly-Washington is a winemaker for organic winery Seresin, renowned for being a new world winery with an old-world approach.
Tamra has a wealth of experience working in the wine industry, including working at Francisan Estate, serving as Head Winemaker for the Calatrasi Group (overseeing wineries in Sicily, Puglia and Tunisia), working as a flying winemaker in the Veneto and Abruzzo regions in Italy and working for nearly 10 years as Chief Winemaker for Yealands Estate in the Awatere Valley. Thank you for the Beautiful Chaos (Pinot Noir) Tamra!
The pioneering Ōhau winery in Horewhenua (the only winery in the area) is led by CEO Donna Riley, a hands-on businesswoman who is passionate about empowering staff and working together to realise a common vision. Donna works very closely with award-winning winemaker Jane Cooper who ensures that only the best fruit comes off the vineyard, while preserving the distinctive Ōhau fruit characteristics. We salut you both with a glass of Not the Norm Rosé.
Co-founder of Monowai, Winemaker Emma Lowe travelled from Chile with her husband vineyard manager Marcelo Nunuz, to establish their vineyard and winery in the Kaweka Ranges. They selected a site on the banks of the Ngaruroro River in Crownthorpe, a cooler, higher altitude district of the Hawke's Bay where they live and work, hand crafting fine wines exclusively from grapes grown on their 22ha vineyard, including their delightful Upper Reaches Chardonnay.
Emma graduated with a degree in winemaking from Adelaide University (Australia) and has since made wines in Australia, Switzerland, South Africa, France, Chile and New Zealand.
Rosie Menzies joined Carrick as their winemaker in 2018. Over the course of her career, Rosie has worked at some of the world’s finest producers including Craggy Range (Hawke’s Bay), Seresin (Marlborough), GD Vajra (Piemonte, Italy), Chapoutier (Rhone Valley), and Cristom (Oregon). Rosie has a Graduate Diploma in Viticulture and Oenology from Lincoln University. Thanks for the many Central Otago Pinot’s Rosie, including of course the Bannockburn 2018!
To learn more about these amazing women, their wine, and what sets them apart from the rest, join us for our Winetopia events. You’ll have the opportunity to see the faces behind the wine, and taste first-hand why we think they’re so great.
Get your tickets for our Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch events, and we look forward to seeing you then.
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