Who will be Marlborough’s next Young Winemaker of the year?

The Young Winemaker competition aims to help ambitious and passionate young people become future leaders of the NZ wine industry.  It is a fantastic opportunity for emerging young winemakers to grow, develop and advance their careers. We are pleased to introduce you to the young Marlborough contestants competing in the Marlborough competition 21st August 2022.

Alun Kirby, Marisco Vineyards

Alun Kilby has been actively involved in the New Zealand wine industry for nearly 13 years. During these years he has worked in multiple regions over the country from Auckland to Central Otago in all aspects of winemaking. From labour intensive vineyard work through to the cellar, migrating up through the ladder to Assistant Winemaker to his current role of Production Winemaker. Alun has an infatuation with wine and everything surrounding it from vine to glass and thoroughly enjoys the challenges that come with each vintage. He is passionate, driven, ambitious and most importantly committed to continuously improving the way we make wine and distribute it to the world

Ashley Robinson, Spy Valley Wines

Ashley Robinson is 30 years old and is the Assistant Winemaker at Spy Valley.  She is originally from California where she fell in love with the wine industry and began her career. Graduating from Sonoma State with a Bachelor of Science and a Wine Business Certificate she has done many harvests between California and Marlborough.

Cam Steel, Nautilus Estate

Cameron grew up in Marlborough, assisting vineyard management operations through his youth. After a couple of years in the NZ Army, he returned home to study Viticulture & Winemaking at NMIT. During his studies Cameron worked as a viticultural contractor, before an internship at Etude Wines’ sparked his interest in winemaking. He has since worked in Napa Valley, McLaren Vale and Marlborough. When he’s not in the winery or the vineyards, you’ll find Cameron out on the water fishing, diving, or parked up with his dogs and a fine wine in hand.

Ellie Hobbs, Rose Family Estate

Ellie Hobbs, originally hailing from Auckland, graduated with a Bachelor of Viticulture and Oenology from Lincoln University in 2017. Since then, she has gone on to complete vintages in New Zealand, France and Australia, before returning to Marlborough in 2019 with her partner to take up the role of Cellar and Lab Assistant, now Assistant Winemaker, at Rose Family Estate. Ellie enjoys splitting her time between the lab and cellar, which has allowed her to gain a deeper understanding of all aspects of wine production, and continues to build on the skills and experiences she has gained through study. Ellie participated in the Women and Wine mentoring program in 2020, through which she was able to develop her confidence, relationships and broader involvement in the wine industry. Ellie loves cooking (and eating) new dishes and wearing brightly coloured leggings.

Joyce Zhu, Villa Maria

Joyce Zhu is a 27-year-old practitioner of the wine industry. She was born and raised in China and moved to New Zealand in 2012 with a strong passion for new world wine growing. Graduated with a master’s degree in Viticulture and Oenology from Lincoln University in 2019 Joyce found her interest in wine technology which lead her to her role as Senior Lab Technician at Villa Maria. She has accomplished 4 vintages in different sized wineries in Marlborough, where slowly became her home away from home. Wine stepped into her life when she was 14, while it was not a mainstream alcoholic beverage in China. Her uncle started a wine import trade business back then, that was her first time seeing all those beautiful wine bottles, and she realised that is going to be her beloved future career. Palatable wine with her ‘oriental stomach’ is one of her greatest hobbies after work, she enjoys cooking and pairing Chinese food with local wines.

Kaitlyn Smid, The Wine Studio

Kaitlyn Smid is 28 years old and is an Assistant Winemaker at The Wine Studio/ Two Rivers. She was born in the Caribbean and grew up in Canada. After Graduating from the University of Toronto with an honours degree in Archaeology and Classical Civilization, she decided to take a year off from beginning her masters to come to New Zealand. This is where her passion for wine began. She has now done 5 vintages in Marlborough and 1 in Sonoma, California, completed her WSET2 and continuing studies in oenology.  She is passionate about wine and ancient history, so it was not a surprise to her when she decided to pursue winemaking. Kaitlyn’s goals are to explore every option available to her in the winemaking field and to learn as much as possible in the process. Outside of work she enjoys catching up with friends, sport, travelling and getting stuck into a good book.

Nick Lamian, VinLink Marlborough

Nick currently works as an assistant winemaker at VinLink Marlborough. Summer work in the vineyards while studying at Otago University sparked his interest in wine as a career. After finishing a degree in Microbiology he started working harvests with vintages across Marlborough, South Australia and Oregon, USA. To further his education in the field, Nick enrolled in the Graduate Viticulture and Oenology program at Lincoln University, completed in 2019. Outside of work Nick has an active lifestyle and spends as much time as he can out hiking and climbing the mountains around the Marlborough region.

Lewis Davidson, Cloudy Bay Vineyards

Lewis Davidson is 26 years old and works as a Cellar Hand at Cloudy Bay Vineyard. Originally from Christchurch, he started his wine career at Constellation Brands, working in both the winery and the vineyards. He began studying a Bachelor of Viticulture and Oenology at Lincoln University in 2014, taking time in between his studies to do vintages in Canada, the United States and Australia. Finally settling in permanently at Cloudy Bay as a Cellar Hand, he is looking to expand his wine knowledge and experience as he moves forward in the industry. In his spare time, Lewis plays volleyball and coaches at various high schools in the Marlborough region.

Ruby McManaway, Yealands Wine Group

A born and bred Blenheim local, Ruby has been surrounded by grapevines from a young age. Ruby’s seven years in the industry launched fresh out of high school, as a cadet at Constellation brands where she was inspired. Over these seven years, her excitement and passion for the wine industry has grown with every harvest, developing new skills to thrive in a fast paced and busy environment. So far, Ruby’s career in the New Zealand wine industry has led her to experience aspects from vineyard and cellar to her current role as Assistant Winemaker at Yealands Estate. With a strong vision of what she wants to achieve in the New Zealand Wine industry and a love for all things wine, she is excited to be entering in the Tonnellerie De Mercurey Young Winemaker of the Year competition for 2022.

Thomas Jordaan, Vavasour

Thomas spent the majority of his childhood in Uitenhage, a small town in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. After school he moved to Stellenbosch to study earth science and followed that up with a master’s in chemical engineering. The time spent in the wine region of South Africa tempted him to do a vintage at one of the oldest wineries in the country.

He followed this up with vintages in Serbia, California and another one in South Africa. Deciding he wanted to pursue a career in winemaking, he chose to do a graduate diploma in viticulture and oenology at Lincoln in 2019. Since then he has travelled across the country, working in Central Otago, Waiheke Island, Hawke’s Bay and Marlborough where he is currently a cellar hand for Vavasour Wines.

Thomas is an avid squash player and on cold rainy days, you’ll find him at the squash courts, but if the sun is out, he is probably tramping in the mountains.