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Kia ora,

The New Zealand Winegrowers Wine Business Forum, focussed on the importance of brand, will be held in Christchurch on 1 November. We are excited about the opportunities of this one-day event, which has been designed to inform, connect and inspire those involved in the New Zealand wine sector. We plan to hold a Wine Business Forum on an annual basis and will select the theme based on feedback from our members on what information they would like to focus on.

There's an impressive lineup of speakers at the forum, including Oz Clarke, as well as brand experts, industry practitioners, leading wine industry commentators, and trade. The programme - divided into Brand, Consumer, Markets and Innovation - will build upon our industry's momentum and how we can leverage learnings to continue to advance New Zealand's premium global position.

We look forward to seeing you in Christchurch soon.

Kia kaha

Charlotte Read, NZW General Manager Brand

For the full programme, go to nzwine.com/en/events/wbf

The Blind Tasting

Kathrin Jankowiec. Photo Credit: Richard Briggs

Congratulations to this year's member Associate Panellists for The Blind Tasting - Kathrin Jankowiec, Winemaker for Villa Maria Estate, and Nick Pett, Winemaker for Seresin Estate. Kathrin and Nick were selected from a pool of 74 applicants and will join two viticultural associates, Katie Cameron (Technical Assistant for Escarpment) and Tai Nelson (Vineyard Manager for Soljans). Our trade associates this year are Ina Yoon (Founder of New Zealand Wine Boutique), Leola King (Founder and Director of Candela Bar) and Martyn Norris (Category Manager - Liquor, Beverages & Tobacco for Foodstuffs North Island - Gilmours). There is a strong focus on diversity of panel in The Blind Tasting with associate and senior panellists spanning all elements of production, from grape growing through to sales, and spanning all elements of production, from grape growing through to sales, and spanning the full trade spectrum, including education, media, distribution, off-premise and on-premise. Cameron Douglas MS and Stephen Wong MW will form one of this year's panels, tasting specifically for activity targeted on-premise trade, as we increase our sommelier-focussed activity in international markets.

The full list of panellists and associate panellists can be found at nzwine.com/members/marketing/education/blind-tasting.

International Pinot Noir Day 2023

To celebrate New Zealand's top exported red variety, NZW ran a PR and social media campaign to mark Pinot Noir Day on 18 August, in conjunction with the provision of a toolkit for use by members, wider trade and media. NZW was thrilled with the engagement from our members, with more than 1,800 toolkit downloads. NZW also worked with media to tell the New Zealand Pinot Noir story by providing a media kit with a series of stories, including facts about New Zealand Pinot Noir, Pinot personalities, and imagery, with particularly strong pick up in Australian and Canadian media publications.