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Meet The Makers

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Meet Tom Turner – Assistant Winemaker at Vavasour

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Meet Tom Turner – Assistant Winemaker at Vavasour

Tom joined the Vavasour team in 2019. Originally from North Canterbury, his interest in wine began when his family planted a small vineyard while he was completing a BCom at Canterbury University. Tom has since travelled and worked in wine regions in France, Australia, United States and South America. Tom completed a Graduate Diploma in Oenology and Viticulture at Lincoln University passing with distinction.

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Meet Mat Duncan – Viticulturalist at Vavasour

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Meet Mat Duncan – Viticulturalist at Vavasour
After growing up on a vineyard in northern Hawkes Bay it was an easy choice for Mat to attend Lincoln University where he graduated with a diploma in Horticultural Vineyard Management. Mat joined the Vavasour team in 2007 as Vineyard Manager and is responsible for 205 hectares of vineyard spread between the Awatere and Wairau Valleys. Continue reading
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Meet Esme Holdsworth – Winemaker at Grove Mill

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Meet Esme Holdsworth – Winemaker at Grove Mill
Esme Holdsworth spent her childhood in Nelson on a rural property where she found a love for the outdoors and formed a special bond with horses. Her parents both routinely cooked homemade meals with vegetables fresh from their own carefully tended garden.
While growing up, Esme’s love of artisan food first sparked her passion for wine. She worked in kitchens and restaurants throughout high school and during summers while attending University. Her job in the kitchen at Denton Winery is where she discovered her love of wine. After attending Otago University she went on to earn a post graduate diploma in viticulture and oenology from Lincoln University. From there she began her career as a vintage lab technician at Waimea Estates. She then worked abroad in Germany and eventually returned to Marlborough. Upon her return she worked as a cellar-hand at several cellars; Delegats, Vavasour, and then Chapoutier, until she returned to Vavasour as the Lab Manager.   Continue reading
Foley Wines Sales
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meet the makers

Meet Susan Van De Pol – Winemaker at Vavasour

Foley Wines Sales
Written by Foley Wines Sales
Meet Susan Van De Pol – Winemaker at Vavasour
Susan Van Der Pol was raised in Blenheim, the centre of Marlborough’s wine industry. In 2002, she was awarded a diploma in Viticulture & Wine Production from Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology. Susan then spent two vintages overseas before returning to New Zealand and joining the Vavasour team as Assistant Winemaker in 2011. Continue reading
Foley Wines Sales
Written by Foley Wines Sales

Meet Matt Dicey Chief Winemaker at Mt Difficulty

Foley Wines Sales
Written by Foley Wines Sales
Meet Matt Dicey Chief Winemaker at Mt Difficulty
Matt (aka Le Grand Fromage) has a lifelong association with the wine industry, and is a fourth generation vigneron. After achieving a Masters Degree in Oenology and Viticulture Matt spent four years gaining experience overseas. He returned to Bannockburn in 1998 to try his hand at the ultimate winemaking challenge – making the best wines possible in a region with infinite potential. Matt's winter passion is skiing with his family, while summers bring jet boating and mountain biking adventures.  Continue reading
Foley Wines Sales
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Meet Stu Marfell – Chief Winemaker at Vavasour

Foley Wines Sales
Written by Foley Wines Sales
Meet Stu Marfell – Chief Winemaker at Vavasour
The people who hand-make Vavasour wines have been there from the start and know the Awatere intimately.

Born and raised in the Awatere, as a child our Winemaker Stu witnessed an exciting transformation from quiet pastoral farming to grape growing as Vavasour forged a new frontier in winemaking. As a nine-year-old he was at the winery for that first revelatory vintage of 1989 – and caught the winemaking bug. Continue reading
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Meet Rachel Hall – Head Distiller at Lighthouse Gin

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Meet Rachel Hall – Head Distiller at Lighthouse Gin
Meet Rachel – she is all things Lighthouse Gin.

From gathering botanicals, twice distilling, tasting every batch for consistency, labelling and bottling, Rachel is our custodian of the Lighthouse tradition – our Lighthouse Keeper if you will.

The first female Head Distiller in New Zealand, Rachel has been crafting Lighthouse by hand since 2014. She first joined the Lighthouse team back in 2010 and learnt her craft from Neil Catherall, our founder and Master distiller.  Continue reading
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Meet Pete Hendle – Assistant Winemaker at Te Kairanga

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Meet Pete Hendle – Assistant Winemaker at Te Kairanga
Born and raised in Wellington when Pete's dream of being a professional cricketer ended, cursed with butter fingers, he found love in a bottle of Burgundy. Pete attended Lincoln University where he became the first undergraduate to produce a medal winning wine from the University's vineyard. Read the full article. Continue reading
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