Dr Richard Smart honoured as Fellow by New Zealand Winegrowers

Dr Richard Smart honoured as Fellow by New Zealand Winegrowers
Dr Richard Smart circa 1986. Image supplied

In an internet ceremony from Auckland last week, Dr Richard Smart was made a Fellow of NZ Winegrowers in a ceremony presided over by Phillip Gregan, CEO NZ Winegrowers.

The ceremony was attended by over 50 NZ former friends and colleagues online. The Fellowship was in recognition of a decade in the 1980s when Smart was Government Viticultural Scientist for NZ based at the Ruakura Research Station in Hamilton. As Gregan reminded the audience, the 1980s was a pivotal time for the local industry, with 25 percent of the vineyards removed, and struggles with phylloxera and increased competition from Australia under the Closer Economic Relations (CER) agreement. Research by Smart, technicians and colleagues helped overcome these issues. Smart founded the NZ Society for Viticulture and Oenology and also presided over the Second International Conference on Cool Climate Viticulture in Auckland in 1988. The NZ sector is presently in much improved health, thanks to these efforts.

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