Waiheke winemaker Courtney Sang is the 2021 Corteva Northern Young Viticulturist of the Year.
Held at Goldie Estate on Thursday 3 June, the competition attracted eight contestants from the Auckland/Northern region and Courtney, assistant winemaker at Obsidian Wines, was announced the winner following speeches from the contestants at Wild Estate that evening.
Courtney says the win was unexpected but nice and she was grateful for the support of Waiheke.
“I’ve been around for a while and a lot of locals came by on the day,” she says.
Aidan Erceg from Man O’ War Vineyards was runner up and George Loughnan, also at Man O’ War Vineyards, placed third.
Other Waiheke contestants taking part in the competition were Annalise Williams of Cable Bay Vineyards and Lee Griffiths from Te Motu, while the rest of the lineup included viticulturalists from vineyards in Matakana and West Auckland.
“I had so much fun, it was a cool time to come together,” says Courtney, adding that she was also relieved to get all the aspects of the competition done. • Erin Johnson
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