Sam Bain from Villa Maria has been named the Corteva Hawke’s Bay Young Viticulturist of the Year 2021 following the competition held at Paritua Estate yesterday.

Congratulations also goes to Robbie Golding from Church Road who was Runner Up and Douw Grobler from Woodthorpe Terraces who came third.

There were eight contestants in total and the judges commented on the very high calibre of them all.

“We were extremely impressed with the talent, knowledge and professionalism of all eight contestants in this competition,” said John van der Linden, judge, viticulturist and technology specialist at Corteva.

“The future is certainly in great hands.”

The other contestants were George Weeks, Constellation Brands; Raquel Kallas, Craggy Range; Laura Marston, Te Mata; Jordan Robinson and Jessica Sunderland Wells, both from Villa Maria.

Despite a foggy start, the sun soon shone down as the contestants worked their way around a wide range of viticultural challenges including trellising, tractor knowledge, pruning, nutrition, irrigation, pest and disease, budgeting and an interview.

They then went head to head in the Biostart Hortisports race which drew a large crowd of supporters. This was followed by a delicious BBQ provided by Fruitfed Supplies.

The contestants ended the day by giving a speech at the Awards Dinner held at Mission Estate where the winners were finally announced.

This is the second consecutive year that Sam Bain has won the Hawke’s Bay Regional competition.

He is excited to represent the region again in the National Final in August in Marlborough and determined to bring the trophy home this year.

He will compete against the winners from Auckland, Wairarapa, Marlborough, North Canterbury and Central Otago.

This year, the contestants were also tasked with creating a short Biosecurity video in their vineyards. These will be used to highlight the New Zealand wine industry’s biosecurity protocols during National Biosecurity Week.

Robbie Golding won this section with his entertaining and informative video.

There are some amazing prizes to be won at the National Final.  These include a Hyundai Kona for a year, an Ecotrellis travel grant, an educational visit to Australia with Corteva, Bahco golden secateurs and other cash prizes.  The winner will also go on to represent the wine industry in the Young Horticulturist of the Year competition in November.

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