Ruby McManaway, New Zealand Young Winemaker of the Year and Anna Kelland, Young Viticulturist of the Year.Image courtesy New Zealand Winegrowers
New Zealand’s search for the Young Viticulturist and Young Winemaker of the Year has come to a close, with the competitions crowning Anna Kelland and Ruby McManaway respectively.
Ruby McManaway works for Yealands in Marlborough and Anna Kelland for Constellation Brands.
“It’s exciting to see so many talented young people coming through in both winemaking and viticulture”, says Nicky Grandorge, leadership and communities manager at New Zealand Winegrowers. “They are passionate, talented and excited about being part of the New Zealand wine story. It’s very reassuring to know the future is in great hands”
The winners were announced at the New Zealand Wine 2025 Celebration Dinner held at Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre on Thursday, 28 August. The Young Winemaker national finals were held on 26 August at Lincoln University, and the Young Viticulturist national finals were held at Greystone, Waipara, the following day.
Nick Putt from Craggy Range was the runner-up in the Young Viticulturist finals and Georgia Mehlhopt from Greystone placed third. The other Young Viticulturists competing were Damon Lovell from Carrick and James Sutcliffe from Craggy Range, Wairarapa.
The other Young Winemakers were Dingying Jiang from Kahiwi and Thalia Osborne from Ash Ridge.
The national finals represent a significant step up from the qualifying regional finals, and competitors were tested on the wide range of skills and knowledge required to be an aspiring winemaker or viticulturist.
For the Young Winemakers, this included the Constellation Brands Laboratory Section and the Indevin Wine Judging section, both of which were won by Ruby McManaway. They also gave a presentation comparing international sustainable wine programmes with the Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ) programme, which has been leading the way for 30 years. They finished by delivering their Fruitfed Supplies speeches at the Celebration Dinner. This was also won by Ruby McManaway.
The challenges for the Young Viticulturists included trellising, machinery, an interview and a mock vineyard tour to discuss soil, nutrition and hot topics in the wine industry. They also undertook some research to find a gap for potential innovations in viticulture. They went head-to-head in the BioStart Hortisports and finally delivered their speeches to a large industry crowd at the New Zealand Wine 2025 Wine Business Forum on 28 August.
Kelland won a prize package including a $6,000 Ecotrellis Travel Grant, a Leadership week, Infaco Electrocoup secateurs (valued at $3,000) and tickets to the Cool Climate Symposium in January.
Georgia Mehlhopt won best research report and presentation; Nick Putt won the Ecotrellis Best Trelliser, and James Sutcliffe the BioStart Hortisports.
Ruby McManaway won both the Constellation Brands Laboratory Section and the Indevin Wine Judging Section in the Young Winemaker competition.
As overall winner, McManaway’s prizes includied a trip to Burgundy to visit the Tonnellerie de Mercurey (cooperage), the opportunity to be an Associate Judge at the New World Wine Awards and the opportunity to review a selection of wines in Drinks Biz Magazine.
Fruitfed will provide a field trip for all the Young Viticulturist and Winemaker finalists as one of their prizes.
As the Young Viticulturist of the Year celebrates its 20th anniversary, Anna Kelland marks the 20th person to win the title. The occasion will be celebrated in Martinborough on 25 September and includes a symposium, dinner and field trip, bringing previous winners, alumni and the whole Young Viticulturist community together.
The competitions are made possible thanks to many volunteers and the generosity of sponsors.
Young Winemaker: Tonnellerie de Mercurey, Fruitfed Supplies, Constellation Brands, Indevin, FMG, Lab Supply, Laffort, Tira Crown, Visy, Winejobsonline, New World, New Zealand Winegrowers, The New Zealand Society for Viticulture & Oenology (NZSVO), and Pacific Rim Oenology.
Young Viticulturist: BioStart, Ecotrellis, Ford, Fruitfed Supplies, Agritrade, Clemens, Constellation Brands, Delegat, Empak, Fendt, Indevin, Klima, Ormond Nurseries, Roots, Shoots & Fruits, Waterforce, NZSVO, New Zealand Winegrowers, and Winejobsonline.
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