Black Canvas owners Matt Thomson and Sophie Parker - Thomson BLANK CANVAS ILLUSTRATES NEW BREEZE OF INNOVATION If you looked under Matt Thomson’s bed as a teenager, chances are you’d have been surprised at what you found. No questionable magazines or piles of empty chip packets for the then 16-year-old…instead you’d have discovered him stashing a collection of wine cases under there – and as much as his pocket money could stretch to. “Accompanying this avid collecting,” the international winemaking consultant and Blank Canvas creator admits now, “was my voracious thirst for knowledge…bedtime reading was 42 MARCH 2016 Parker’s Bordeaux volumes.” It’s a remarkably organised start to life, but Thomson knew early on that winemaking was his passion. With a Masters in Biochemistry from the University of Otago under his arm, he began working in the wine industry, founding his consultancy Kiwi-Oeno in 1997 as Marlborough’s meteoric rise to international wine stardom began. As icing on the cake, he commenced “flying winemaking consulting” for British importer Liberty Wines more than 20 years ago. It would seem fortuitous, therefore, that he’d one day employ a young Gisborne-born lawyer from a strong winemaking family renowned for its pioneering zany ideas. Sophie Parker, also an Otago graduate, was dabbling in wine and restaurant reviews in Queenstown when an opportunity arose for her to go to Marlborough for the 2011 vintage with Kiwi-Oeno. Five vintages – and one marriage later – Sophie Parker is still there…only with the name Thomson added to her moniker. The pairing is formidable. Together, they have
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