GISBORNE New Writer
New Home For Festival
Justine Tyerman is NZ Winegrower’s new Gisborne correspondent, and has lived and worked in Gisborne for 35 years. An Otago and Canterbury University English graduate, she has worked as a journalist and sub-editor for The Gisborne Herald for the past 17 years. She currently edits and writes for The Gisborne Herald Weekender. She is also a travel writer with articles published in a wide range of national and international magazines. She and her husband Chris, a banker, had a small vineyard for 25 years and grew Chardonnay for a variety of companies. Many
Gisborne’s Labour Weekend Wine and Food Festival will be held at a single venue adjacent to Midway Beach this year. Festival steering committee chairwoman Kerry Taggart said Awapuni Stadium would be the new home for the “refreshed and refocused” event, now in its 18th year. “Location was a big consideration in our community and stakeholder consultation. It became clear that people have enjoyed both the single and multi-site festivals, but transport has always been an issue. So the closer we bring it to town, the easier the access will be,” she said. The festival will focus on local entertainment with multiple informal zones accommodating musical acts and other activities. “We really want to get away from the headline act model, where the day is completely dominated by what happens on the stage,” said Gisborne Winegrowers’ president Doug Bell. “We’re going for a day that feels more like a garden party than a rock concert and that’s an important distinction for attracting the more mature market back to this event,” he said. Tickets for the October 26 event went on sale on August 1st.
of their friends are growers and winemakers so she is familiar with the industry. Before becoming a journalist, Justine was a social worker, a stay-athome mum raising two daughters and a polytechnic tutor, teaching English as a foreign language. To contact Justine email; Justine. tyerman@clear.net.nz
HAWKE’S BAY National Winner Hawke’s Bay’s Elephant Hill has been named New Zealand’s Best Winery Restaurant in the Cuisine Good Food Awards. Assessing 80 wineries throughout the country, the magazine’s judging panel scored the Te Awanga winery 15.5 out of a possible 20 points for a combination of food, service and ambience. The panel made particular mention of Elephant Hill’s smart surrounds, sea views and good food.
MARLBOROUGH
CANTERBURY
New Partnership With China
Organic Course Closure Upsets
Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT) is partnering with two Chinese universities to deliver joint education programmes in viticulture and wine. NMIT Chief Executive Tony Gray recently travelled to China where he signed a cooperation agreement with China Agriculture University, Yantai Campus, a top agricultural university in China. The major areas of focus for cooperation are in viticulture and wine and commerce. NMIT has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Beijing Agricultural University (BAU) to cooperate in viticulture and wine education. Under both initiatives, students will initially study in China utilising the NMIT curriculum, and also studying English as part of their programme. Students will later have the opportunity to complete part of their education in New Zealand through NMIT. Cooperation in activities such as student and staff exchanges and joint research projects is also being explored.
The cutting of organic courses at Lincoln University is shortsighted and a move in the wrong direction, according to the Soil & Health Association. As part of a number of course and staff cuts at Lincoln University, three organic courses are to be dropped, and one full-time senior lecturer position will be disestablished. In its submission to Lincoln University in May, Soil & Health strongly supported retaining the courses, and encouraged the university to show leadership for the future of sustainable, organic production in New Zealand, and to market these courses as a point of difference. “We appreciate the tough economic realities that tertiary education providers are facing,” Marion Thomson, co-chair of Soil & Health said. “Soil & Health would like to see significant investment by the government in sustainable, organic farming, and also in education to support it. It makes no sense to keep backing intensive, industralised farming and genetic engineering when people want safe organic food and a clean environment.” Student feedback about the courses has been overwhelmingly positive, and enrolment numbers have increased in recent years.
NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2014 // 9