Organisers are delighted that the 2021 Central Otago Tonnellerie de Mercurey Young Winemaker competition can go ahead this Thursday.

Due to lockdown and other competitions having to be pushed out, the Central Otago competition is now the first regional competition of 2021 to take place.

“This is one date we haven’t had to move due to lockdown,” says Nicky Grandorge, from NZ Winegrowers and National Co-ordinator of the Competition. “It is really exciting it can go ahead and the competitions are now underway.”

Seven of the eight contestants in the Central Otago competition are women this year, highlighting the increasing number of women seeing the wine industry as an exciting sector in which to forge a career.   

The winner will go through to compete against winners from Marlborough and the North Island at the National Final which is being held in Central Otago for the first time towards the end of this year.  

Young winemakers from North Canterbury are also eligible to enter this competition.

The Tonnellerie de Mercurey Young Winemaker of the Year Competition has been running since 2015 and aims to stretch emerging Young Winemakers, help them upskill, grow in confidence and start making a name for themselves in the New Zealand wine industry.

The competition will be held at VinPro in Cromwell on Thursday September 16.  

Rosie Menzies and the CO Young Winemaker Committee have put together some interesting challenges which will test the competitors on a wide range of skills required to be a successful winemaker including laboratory skills, wine industry knowledge, tasting, blending and marketing. 

Appropriate government guidelines for Alert Level 2 will of course be followed at all times and for this reason there can be no spectators at this year’s competition.

The winner will be announced at the Awards Dinner being held at Carrick the same night where they will deliver their speeches sponsored by Fruitfed Supplies.  

Due to Alert Level 2 restrictions this will be on a smaller scale than originally planned but nevertheless a welcome opportunity to safely celebrate the local wine industry and its future leaders.   

Good luck to all those competing: Jordan Moores, Valli; Annabel Wylie, Grapevision; Cyntia Barros, Carrick; Georgia Mehlhopt, Amisfield; Hannah van Velthooven, Prophets Rock; Olivia Williams, Mt Difficulty; Melissa Gross, Akarua and Emily Townshend, The Bone Line in N.Canterbury. 

Last year’s winner was Ben Tombs from Peregrine who went on to become the 2020 Tonnellerie de Mercurey NZ Young Winemaker of the Year.