Who will be the next 2023 Tonnellerie de Mercurey Marlborough Young Winemaker of the Year?

The Young Winemaker Competition provides a fantastic opportunity for future winemakers 30 years or under to upskill, grow in confidence, widen their network and start making a name for themselves within the industry. The winner of the regional competition will compete in the National competition against other regions. We are pleased to introduce you to the contestants competing in the Marlborough competition taking place Wednesday 13th September.

Callum Haynes, Matua Wines

Callum Haynes is a winemaker from sunny Marlborough. His wine journey began in 2014 when he graduated from Lincoln University with a Bachelor of Viticulture and Oenology. Since then, he has been expanding his wine knowledge in New Zealand, Australia and Germany. Three years abroad taught him many things, but the most important lesson was that there is no place like home. So in 2020, he returned to his Kiwi roots and has been making world class Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc ever since. In his spare time, Callum likes to play boardgames, walk in the mountains and enjoy a glass of Riesling in the sun.

Henri Steele, Spring Creek Vintners

Henri Steele is a 24-year-old cellar hand/laboratory technician at Spring Creek Vintners. New Zealand born, dairy farm raised, her love for all things wine began when her family moved to Marlborough in 2017. Graduating from NMIT with a degree in Viticulture and Winemaking in 2021, she was sure she was ready to enter the industry with a focus on Viticulture but since completing her first vintage in a winery back in 2020 and despite the covid restrictions, found a love in the cellar work and the ins and outs of producing wines. She has since built her knowledge in both fields, having worked for a viticulture contractor covering a wide variety of vineyard sites, in addition to 5 winery vintages, 4 as a cellar hand; 1 in California, her most recent was as a Laboratory technician, who got the occasional call out to the cellar to provide a helping hand with the onslaught of grapes. This has not stopped her passion for the vineyard, she has decided to give her full attention to both and pursue a deep knowledge of the New Zealand wine Industry as a whole. This will be her first time entering the Young Winemaker of the Year competition and she is looking forward to the challenge and meeting fellow young winemakers in the industry.

Lan Zhang, Pernod Ricard

Lan Zhang, currently works as Assistant Winemaker at Pernod Ricard Winemakers in Marlborough. Originally from China, she came to New Zealand in 2014 for high school. She then went to Lincoln University, graduated in 2019 with a Bachelor’s degree in Viticulture and Winemaking. 

During her studies, she has worked in the vineyard, wineries and cellar door in Marlborough and Central Otago. She also studied CMS & WSET. Finally, she decided that winemaking is something she wants to do, then she has taken up the role of cellarhand, now Assistant winemaker at Pernod Ricard.  

Outside of work, she loves to do snowboarding.

Lara Campbell, Clos Henri Marlborough

Lara is 28 years old and in addition to being assistant winemaker, she oversees sales and marketing at Clos Henri Vineyard.

Growing up in South Africa, she didn’t discover wine until moving to New Zealand at 15, despite growing up in a renowned cool climate region.

She studied at NMIT in Marlborough before completing her degree at Lincoln, graduating in 2016. After spending two harvests with Yealands, she realized that organics and sustainability were her passion; which saw her move to Clos Henri in 2013. When not making, talking about or drinking wine Lara can be found hiking, cooking and painting.

Nick Lamain, VinLink Marlborough

Nick's wine adventure began with a spontaneous decision to return to Marlborough after completing his Bachelor of Science in Dunedin. The fast-paced, energetic atmosphere of the winery had him hooked and spurred him on to pursue a career in the wine industry. Enriched by many more harvest experiences including stints in the Clare Valley and Oregon, he deepened his knowledge with a graduate degree in winemaking from Lincoln University in 2019. As a Production Winemaker at VinLink Marlborough, Nick savours the rollercoaster ride of each vintage, relishing the thrill of being in such a dynamic, interconnected industry!

Saphal Acharya, Awatere River Wines

Saphal Acharya is 30 years old and is Lab manager at Awatere River Winery, Booster Wine Group. He Grew up in Pokhara, Nepal – a city rich in culture and nature with a strong family focus. In 2014, Saphal moved to Marlborough to study winemaking, and graduated from Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology with a graduate diploma in viticulture and winemaking in 2016. He did his first harvest in 2015 at Whitehaven winery. He then joined Giesen wine group as a junior cellar hand. His wine career started as a tank cleaner and then cellar hand, harvest supervisor, lab technician and now he is managing the laboratory at Booster wine Group. He is passionate about people and wine. Outside of work Saphal likes to take pictures and make videos. He has almost 13k followers on his Facebook page. Saphal has consistently used his skills in media to promote, educate and inspire those around him to look after their mental health. His goal is to support those around him and to encourage and support others to make mentally healthy workplace.

Zack Andrews, Hunter’s Wines

Zack Andrews is 27 years old and is Assistant Winemaker at Hunter’s wines. He grew up in Marlborough and is studied part time at NMIT in Winemaking. His wine career began doing his first two harvest locally straight after high school and he has worked vintages in Clare Valley, and Marlborough. He became interested in winemaking when learnt more on the job, tasting exciting wines and doing lab analysis. He is passionate about quality wine and being hands on through the whole process of wine making. Outside of work he enjoys hanging out with friends, going to bars, eating good food and beaches.