WineNZ Summer 18-19 (1)

The summer issue tasting team. From left: Simon Nash MW, chairman of the panel of judges, Briar Davies EIT, associate judge, Barry Riwai, judge,
Zhuoqun Liu (Ella), EIT degree student and associate judge, Tim Creagh, EIT, Professor Xue Yang a professor of the Qilu University of Technology
who is a visiting scholar at EIT and associate judge for the tasting, Matt Kirby, judge, Paul Taggart, WineNZ magazine publisher.
Tasting time
Our top line-up of judges taste sauvignon blanc, rose and
sparkling wines, writes Paul Taggart.
Chairman of the panel was Simon Nash
MW, a Cambridge graduate who spent
three years trading commodities in the
city of London before realising that wine
was his true passion.
He gained industry experience at
Grants of St James’s, Hatch Mansfield
and Private Liquor Brands. In 1994,
he passed his Master of Wine, and
decided to travel the world, spending
time in the Californian wine industry
before fetching up in New Zealand and
marrying a Kiwi winemaker.
He is now a wine business consultant,
based in Hawke’s Bay.
We welcomed a new member on to the
team for this tasting. Matt Kirby is an
Australian who moved across the ditch
in 2015 with his young family to take up
the winemaking role at Clearview Estate
in Hawke’s Bay.
Before embarking on a career in wine
Matt studied marine biology and he is
also a qualified chef.
He has worked in Australia, China,
France (Burgundy), Austria, the United
States and now New Zealand. He also
has extensive judging experience.
Barry Riwai is a product of the Eastern
Institute of Technology.
He worked at Ngatarawa Wines, Church
Road Winery and in the Loire and
Bordeaux. He was then winemaker at
Clearview, back in Hawke’s Bay, before
moving to Alpha Domus.
Barry’s judging credentials are
impressive, having judged at the
Air New Zealand Wine Awards, the
Royal Easter Wine Awards, Spiegelau
International, Bragato and Australia’s
leading event, the National Wine Show
of Australia, Canberra.
22 WineNZ Magazine | Summer 2018-19