27 July 2009
Third time lucky for young viticulturist
Once again it was shown that persistence and determination pays off with this year’s winner of the Markhams Young Viticulturist Hawke’s Bay award, Caine Thompson being a third-time entrant.
Thompson, who is Mission Estate’s company viticulturist and placed second in the competition last year, follows in the footsteps of the 2008 winner, Cameron Roucher, who also took three years to hone his skills to win.
This year there were seven contestants in the annual competition held on Friday (July 27) at Mission Estate and run by Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers Focus Vineyard group. In addition to practical vineyard tests, competitors were required to complete a budgeting exercise, a wine options tasting, and present a three-minute speech to over 100 award dinner guests on Friday evening.
In addition to the top prize, Thompson also won the Skeltons spray programme section, the Fruitfed pest and disease section, and the Synthesis netting section.
Second in the competition was Tony Verry, manager of a family owned vineyard, who won the Norwood Farm Machinery Centre section, the Harvest Hawke’s Bay yield section, and the Biostart Horty Sports contest. Paul Robinson, Villa Maria’s viticulture technical officer was third.
Thompson and Charles Simons from Craggy Range Te Muna vineyard in Martinborough, who was announced as that region’s representative on the night, will now compete at the national final to be held in Napier next month.
Other section winners were:
Nick Otto, AgRecovery Wine Options and the general knowledge quiz, and overall winner of the evening’s three activities;
Charles Simons, Ramsay Roundwood Trellising section, Waterforce Irrigation section, and the Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers speech;
Marj Hurley, special prize for overall machinery excellence.
The Fruitfed Silver Secateurs Grape Vine Pruning competition was also held on Friday with a record number of 54 competitors taking part, up from 31 last year.
Individual tyer first place winner was John Paul with Mike Toa and Andrew Wong, second and third respectively. Soukanya Singsathit won the individual pruners’ competition with Jeremiah Paul and Fea Peivi, the placegetters.
In the teams’ event, the Paul brothers were the winners, with Ag Works as runner up and Matua Valley third.
The winners will now represent Hawke’s Bay in the national Silver Secateurs competition also held at the Romeo Bragato conference.
