Zoe Marychurch from Bell Hill won the South Island Regional Young Viticulturist of the Year competition on Friday 15th June.
This is a new regional competition added to the Young Vit competition this year and is open to contestants from Nelson, Canterbury and Waitaki. The winner goes through to represent their own region so Marychurch will represent North Canterbury in the National Final in August.
Four contestants battled it out at Greystone in Waipara – three from North Canterbury and one from Nelson. “The calibre of the contestants was high and it was great to see their enthusiasm and passion for viticulture evident throughout the day” says Nicky Grandorge, National Co-ordinator. They were tested on a wide range of skills including budgeting, trellising, pruning and pests and diseases.
Sam Pearce from Waipara Hills came a very close second with the awards dinner held at Black Estate, where the contestants gave their speeches whilst the local wine community enjoyed an exquisite dinner and fine wines kindly donated from North Canterbury and Nelson wineries.
Zoe is thrilled to represent her home area of North Canterbury. She loves the people and hopes this draws attention to the great wines of North Canterbury. She will go on to compete against five other contestants from Northland, Hawke’s Bay, Central Otago, Wairarapa and Marlborough in the National finals to be held in the Wairarapa in August.
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