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You have said that the “Sommelier of the Year” competition was “a test in listening.” Can you tell us about the role of “listening” in being a sommelier in general?
In a competition, the judges might throw you a curve ball: the wrong vintage of a wine, an incorrect cocktail order, an out-of-date beer. All designed to see how well you are listening. In the day-to-day business of being a sommelier this is built in. You have to listen and anticipate the guests’ needs, be aware of all the people moving around the restaurant, listen to the needs of co-workers. It becomes second nature, and is one of the first things you learn quickly in a restaurant. The fast pace demands it.
What can you tell us about the specific market of New Zealand wines and New Zealanders’ taste for wines from around the world?
New Zealand is a small, isolated and extremely beautiful country. There is no shortage of excellent wine to drink either, and I am pleased to see Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc on wine lists around the world. New Zealand Chardonnay is reaching new heights, and the Pinot Noir is captivating. Producers are also experimenting with many different grape varieties and techniques, and Kiwis fully support them. In Auckland we see a great variety of wines from around the world, with some specialist importers helping to keep our lists diverse.
I always make time for the smaller producers and countries represented, and I am actually very interested in trying the wines from China!
How are consumer tastes and expectations changing in your market?
Our market is getting larger and more diverse. Many people are moving to New Zealand and bringing with them new tastes and experiences. This is creating exciting changes to the marketplace, and many vendors are venturing further to find wines. Also, there is a push to do so in a way that respects the environment, and consumers are looking for new ideas and movements to get behind. We have a producer in New Zealand bringing bag-in-box packaging to a new audience and it is really doing well. We cherish that.
What products are you particularly interested in at Vinexpo Asia 2024?
Vinexpo always has some incredible vendors and products to showcase. Where do I begin? As a wine lover this can be a really difficult decision. I always make time for the smaller producers and countries represented, and I am actually very interested in trying the wines from China!
As Angela Allan aptly puts it, Vinexpo Asia offers vendors the opportunity to “showcase products properly” and “create solid business connections.”
New Zealand Winegrowers, the umbrella organisation representing hundreds of Kiwi growers and wineries, appears to agree as it has set up an entire New Zealand Wine Pavilion at Vinexpo Asia in Hong Kong this year.
The pavilion is featuring several exhibitors, from wine groups like Foley Wines Ltd. to individual wineries such as Odyssey Wines, in the Marlborough region, New Zealand’s most productive and concentrated area for grape growing.
Together the exhibitors are featuring more than 500 different products from the country’s various wine regions, which span from Northland, the peninsula north of Auckland, to Central Otago, in the south-central area of the South Island.
The latter is the world’s most southernly wine region, and boats New Zealand’s highest vineyards, with elevations ranging from 200 to 400 metres above sea level.
Central Otago is best known for its Pinot Noir wines, including those produced by the family-owned estate Te Kano (meaning “seed” in the Māori language), another of the exhibitors present on the New Zealand Wine Pavilion. There are also some New Zealand wineries exhibiting in other sections throughout the show, such as Spy Valley Wines at stand F246 and the Booster Wine Group at stand F236.
