Young Viticulturist of the Year, Silver Secateurs

_MEDIA RELEASE
27 August 2007

Young Viticulturist of the Year and Silver Secateurs Awards Announced

Emma Taylor has been named 2007 Young Viticulturist of the Year as part of the 13th annual Romeo Bragato conference.

Also awarded at the conference was Aranna Paul of Hawke’s Bay, who has been named winner of the national Silver Secateurs Grape Vine Pruning Competition for 2007 for Individual Pruning.

Viticulturist of the Year

Emma Taylor from Villa Maria in the Hawke’s Bay was delighted to accept this award after progressing through a rigorous judging process to take the esteemed title for 2007.

The competition is judged over a number categories including pruning ability, general viticultural knowledge, and budgeting and machinery skills. Emma showed outstanding knowledge in these areas to win the title for 2007.

The Young Viticulturist of the Year competition provides up and coming talent the opportunity to progress their skills and networking ability.

Silver Secateurs

This year, Aranna won the Bahco Individual Pruning Trophy with his attention to detail and outstanding pruning knowledge.

Other trophy winners include Andrew Stove of Matua Valley Wines in the Hawke’s Bay who won the Pernod Ricard Tying Trophy, while Matua Valley Wines won the Team Trophy.

The competition, run in conjunction with the Romeo Bragato conference, is designed to encourage high standards and recognise the skills of New Zealand pruners.

New Zealand Winegrowers chief executive Philip Gregan said pruning is an integral part of producing premium wine and the Silver Secateurs competition is an opportunity to acknowledge this skill.

“Being able to perfectly prune a grapevine is an art. There are many skills such as tying, cutting, balancing and recognising vine health which are needed in order to correctly prune and contribute towards high-quality wine,” he said.

The Silver Secateurs and Young Viticulturist of the Year Awards are held in conjunction with the Romeo Bragato conference, which discusses the role science, technology and innovation plays in grape growing and wine making.

ENDS

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