North Island 2022 Young Winemaker of the Year
Douw Grobler from Trinity Hill in Hawke’s Bay has become the 2022 Tonnellerie de Mercurey North Island Young Winemaker of the Year. The competition was held at EIT in Hawke’s Bay.
Grobler had competed previously in both the Young Winemaker and Young Vit competitions and says he has enjoyed the opportunity to upskill and keep stretching himself.
“It’s fantastic to see contestants’ tenacity and determination to take out the title,” says Nicky Grandorge, Leadership and Communities Manager at New Zealand Winegrowers. “Douw very much deserves the win, and his passion for furthering his career and contributing to our industry is very strong.”
Douw Grobler from Trinity Hill named 2022 Tonnellerie de Mercurey North Island Young Winemaker of the Year.
Tom Crosier from Craggy Range placed second and Jordan Robinson from Sacred Hill came third.
This regional competition is open to emerging young winemakers under 30 years old from all around the North Island. The other contestants were Jordyn Harper from Smith & Sheth in Hawke’s Bay, Gracie-Rose Kay from Coopers Creek and Ashish Thakur from Villa Maria, both from Auckland.
The aspiring Young Winemakers were tested on many aspects of wine production and all six contestants walked away with prizes, having each come top in one of the various sections.
This included a cellar challenge, laboratory tests, blending, fault finding, blind tasting, marketing, wine knowledge and wine tasting. They also debated a topic at the Awards Dinner held at The Cheval Room in Hastings. This year’s topics included the future of wine writers, protecting and promoting New Zealand sparkling wine, and whether it is time to legally define ‘natural wine’.
The national sponsors of the competition are Tonnellerie de Mercurey, Fruitfed Supplies, Villa Maria-Indevin, Laffort, Programmed Property Services, Tira Crown, Visy, New World, Winejobsonline, NZSVO and Pernod Ricard.
Douw Grobler received a prize package of $1000, an educational trip sponsored by Fruitfed Supplies, as well as a Dale Carnegie Leadership Course. He will now compete in the National Final at Kim Crawford Winery in Marlborough on 3 February 2023.
