Way has recently been announced as the winner of the inaugural Family of Twelve MW Scholarship.
Thirty international MW students, (all in their second year of study) applied for the scholarship, which offered the winner a unique all expenses paid visit to New Zealand, to be hosted by the wineries that make up the Family of Twelve.
Chair William Hoare says all applicants had to provide an essay on one of two subjects.
• New Zealand has entered many global markets with great success, particularly with Sauvignon Blanc. How does it now build and strengthen its reputation as a producer of fine wine?
• Is fine wine an old people’s game? If so, how does one bring the younger generation into spending their hard earned income on better bottles?
It was the Family members who came up with the subjects, and Hoare says both are relevant not only to the group, but the entire New Zealand wine industry.
“What’s the next big thing for New Zealand and how do we get young people engaged to pay more for wines, are issues that face us all at the moment. We need to know how we can take on the best in the world at both price and quality. The Family of Twelve is all about premium wines – none of us can compete on price points and as a country New Zealand can’t compete on price points either. So these topics are hugely relevant to all of us.”
Hoare says David Way, who chose the first topic, showed how well he understood the question.
“His essay was well documented, it was analytical with all his statistics and research backed up. It stood out.”
New Zealand based Master of Wine Jane Skilton was the one who first suggested that the Family of Twelve may like to look at becoming involved in the MW programme, after the Institute ran an educational seminar in New Zealand last year.
The synergy between the Family and Masters of Wine is strong given three New Zealand MWs are involved - Steve Smith, Michael Brajkovich and Alastair Maling.
“I said to them, this fits really well with you, because you are focused on premium wines and so is the Institute. Would you consider providing some sort of prize? And they really got behind it.”
As for the winner, David Way is a wine educator and writer who specializes in the wines of Italy and some French regions. In addition to writing, he leads trips to select Italian and French wine regions. He began studying for the MW in September 2013.
The following is an extract from his winning essay, based on question one.
“New Zealand quickly built a significant wine sector due to its climate and soils, its innovation in wine styles and its production of wines of convincing quality at affordable prices. It can best build and develop its reputation as a producer of fine wine
by now: developing varietal wines which complement its current champions; aiming to make world class wines which will raise its reputation from very good to genuinely outstanding; continuing towards greater consolidation of the financial basis of its wine industry in order to have the scale to compete in difficult times and competitive markets; continuing to build its export markets in established and new countries through excellent marketing and forging strategic alliances; and, finally, innovating to produce new style wines which will anticipate and capitalise on new trends.”
Way is likely to visit New Zealand within the next six months and will spend time with each of the Family of Twelve wineries. They are; Kumeu River, Villa Maria, The Millton Vineyard, Craggy Range, Ata Rangi, Palliser Estate, Neudorf Vineyards, Nautilus Estate, Fromm Winery, Lawson’s Dry Hills, Pegasus Bay and Felton Road.
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