Mission Estate Viticulturist, Caine Thompson is Hawkes Bay’s Young Viticulturist of the year. Sponsored by Markhams, Mr Thompson now represents Hawkes Bay in the national competition.
“It’s really fantastic news and I’m pleased to have won,” Mr Thompson said.
In addition to the practical vineyard tests, the competitors had to take part in budgeting exercises and a “wine options” competition, where contestants had to put their palates to the test, blind-tasting wines in an attempt to identify them, their vintages, regional variances and countries of origin.
Over the past few years Mr Thompson’s job has involved more and more office work to the point where he observed that practical components of the competition, like putting a chain-saw back together have become difficult!
The competition also involved his delivering a three minute speech; he selected the controversial topic, “Is alcohol a dangerous drug of the masses, or an innocuous social lubricant?”
Sources:
Hawkes Bay Today
Mission Estate