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Sir George and Karen Fistonich In 1961 Sir George Fistonich leased a few acres of land from his father and went on to found his own company - Villa Maria. The first wines were a Hock, a dry red and a dry white, released in 1962 with George doing both the viticulture and winemaking. Now, in 2017 the name Villa Maria is synonymous with an array of wine styles which have won just about every award possible. With wineries in Auckland, Hawke’s Bay and Marlborough, Villa Maria was the only New Zealand company listed in the Drinks
International Top 10 Most Trusted Brand. George’s service to the industry was recognised in 2008 when he was Knighted. Sir George and his wife Gail have three children and one of those is actively involved in Villa Maria. Karen who began her career in banking is the chair of the Villa Maria board, ensuring that the Fistonich name continues at the helm of the company.
Sir George Fistonich, 77
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was not encouraged by my father to go into winemaking as a career. He believed that his eldest son Ivan should gain a profession, the second (me) go into a trade and my sister marry and have a family. I was encouraged to be a carpenter and joiner and as soon as I had completed my apprenticeship I began winemaking. I think my father would be more than surprised to see what I have achieved in the wine industry but his decision about positioning me
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as a carpenter was probably quite right at the time. The industry was very young and wines were hardly recognised in New Zealand at the time. I was determined though, and having mixed with fellow Croatian families such as the Babich’s, Selak’s, Delegat’s and a few others ,who were some of the first families to make wine here, I thought to myself that there has to be a better life than just hammering in nails. I bought a few barrels from Tauranga (Gail and myself
NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017
drove down in my Ford truck) and brought them back and that was the beginning! Not long after, a few of the young winemakers (Joe Babich, Nick Nobilo, Ivan Selak, Jim Delegat and Joe Corban )and myself started the Young Winemaker’s club. We would get together on a fortnightly basis tasting each other’s wine and swapping stories around winemaking. It felt natural because wine was very familiar to me. Throughout our childhood there was always
wine and water on the table with every meal. My father made wine under the Mountain View label but just for our own usage and the neighbours. Back then it was very much a beer drinking culture and there were very few licensed restaurants and no independent wine outlets. In addition, I was heavily influenced by my uncle who owned the Delta Picture Theatre in New Lynn. He loved wine and used to import French, South African and