Founder and CEO of EuroVintage, Nick Hern, has been made a Knight of the French Order of Agricultural Merit for his exceptional contribution to the French wine industry.

The Order of Agricultural Merit was established in France in 1883 and was second in importance only to the Legion of Honour. It is bestowed on individuals by the French Republic for their outstanding contributions to agriculture.

Hern’s 40-year career spans a wide sector of the wine business: a brand manager with New Zealand Wines and Spirits Ltd in the 1980s, he established a family retail enterprise in the 1990s which was subsequently sold to Lion Nathan, he was then managing director of South Corp/Penfolds Wines and began importing French wines in 1992.

In 1997, Hern established Vintage Wines and Spirits Limited, which in 2010 purchased Wellington-based Eurowine and now trades as EuroVintage. Today, the national distributor employs 70 people and sells 1.2 million bottles of French wine annually.

Hern was nominated for the prestigious Ordre du Mérite, by another recipient of the award, Xavier Pignet-Dupont, Asian Managing Director for France’s largest wine producer, Castel Groupe.

The award was presented by Vincent Hebrail, Agriculture Counsellor at a ceremony in Auckland in late November. Hern says he was surprised but honoured to receive the award. “I have been fortunate to work with some of the leading French producers and brands over many years, but the award also acknowledges the EuroVintage team who have worked hard in the trade selling these wines for a long time.”