Former co-op chair accepts Queen's Birthday honour
Former Fonterra chairman John Monaghan says he's quite humbled to make the Queen's Birthday and Platinum Jubilee honours list.
Nobilo was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to the wine industry, after a career that has spanned 54 years.
The Nobilo name is synonymous with the emergence of wine in this country, with Nick’s father establishing the House of Nobilo back in 1944. Initially the company was producing fortified wines, but that quickly changed in the 1960s when the family began producing table wines from classic vinifera varietals. Pinotage, Cabernet, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay were basically unknown in New Zealand at the time, although it wasn’t long before other companies began following the Nobilo path. The very first commercial production of New Zealand Gewurztraminer came out of the House of Nobilo in 1972, and has remained a staunch favourite for Nick every since.
As a wine maker, he has been a trailblazer. He is credited with being the first winemaker in New Zealand to use French oak barrels, originally for his 1973 Chardonnay. Barrel fermentation was another new idea for many local winemakers.
In the 1990s it was a Nobilo Chardonnay that became the very first new world wine to be served by British Airways on all its European flights.
By 2000, he was looking at changing direction and sold The House of Nobilo to BRL Hardy. This allowed him to dedicate himself to his favourite variety, Gewurztraminer, by setting up Vinoptima in Gisborne. The new company is single varietal – something that was again a first for New Zealand.
Congrats Nick, your honour is well deserved.
