Source: Eastern Institute of Technology – Tairāwhiti
15 mins ago
Alena Kamper, a graduate of the Viticulture & Wine Science Concurrent Degree at EIT | Te Pūkenga, is the 2023 Tonnellerie de Mercurey North Island Young Winemaker of the Year.
Alena Kamper, a graduate of the Viticulture & Wine Science Concurrent Degree at EIT | Te Pūkenga, is the 2023 Tonnellerie de Mercurey North Island Young Winemaker of the Year, following the competition held at Indevin’s Gimblett Gravels winery.
Not only did Alena, 22, who now works at Sacred Hill Winery, win the competition, but Casey Mackintosh, a current Bachelor of Viticulture & Wine Science student came second.
Alena said she had been nervous to enter the competition, which made the win unexpected.
“I had heard great things about the competition and that it was a great way to make connections in the industry and to really challenge yourself.”
“At first I didn’t feel ready because I was quite new into the industry. It’s going to be my first year of full-time work. And then what got me over the line to apply was people were saying, it’s really a great place to learn and see what you don’t know.”
“They were talking about how they regretted not entering and so that made it seem less intimidating, which is what pushed me to apply.”
To win the competition, Alena had to prove her skills in a range of tasks from blending, wine market knowledge, cellar skills, wine tasting and an interview.
The awards dinner was held at Brookfields Winery where the contestants delivered their Fruitfed speeches, which focused on hot topics for the wine industry. Alena says her speech was on Hawke’s Bay neeing a new varietal to entice new age wine drinkers.
“it was a super cool topic. I really enjoyed writing that. I had a lot of fun with the speech. I was quite happy with the topic I got.”
For her efforts Alena won $1,000 cash, premium wines, a Dale Carnegie leadership course and an educational trip sponsored by Fruitfed Supplies. This trip will take place early next year.
Alena now goes on to represent the North Island in the National Final of the 2023 Tonnellerie de Mercurey NZ Young Winemaker of the Year on 31 October at The Bone Line in Waipara, North Canterbury.
She says she is looking forward to the national competition, but realises it will be a step up.
Alena looks back at her time at EIT | Te Pūkenga with fondness, saying the programme was recommended to her by an old science teacher of hers at the school she attended, Sacred Heart College.
“I always loved science and did really well in that area at school. When I was about to leave high school, I was unsure of what I wanted to do. I wanted it to be science-based, but I didn’t want that to be the core of the degree. So when the teacher recommended the course, I signed up for it.”
“I was lacking knowledge in wine and experience in wine but I loved it and I never looked back. I was really happy I made that decision.”
She says she loved the degree and was pleased that the lecturers gave one-on-one help to students.
“Some of our lecturers were from the industry, so they were teaching us real-life wine industry related content..”
“I think it was a really good, well-rounded degree and I think it was really easy to ask for help and receive help, which made it feel a little bit less intimidating when we’re going into study.”
Alena finished her degree last year, but only graduated this year because of Cyclone Gabrielle delays.
She wasted no time in getting employment in the industry. She did two vintages at Villa Maria and then got an opportunity to do one at Sacred Hill, where she was offered a permanent role as a cellar hand.
Sue Blackmore, the Head of the School of Viticulture and Wine Science at EIT | Te Pūkenga, said: “The Viticulture and Wine Science School congratulate Elena on both her success in the Young Winemaker but also forging ahead with her career in the Wine world. We aim to assist our graduates to find their feet quickly and find exciting career paths in an exciting NZ industry.”
