OZ CLARKE INDUCTED IN TO NEW ZEALAND WINE HALL OF FAME WINERY ENGINEERING ASSOCIATION WINERY RESOURCE MANAGEMENT = SUSTAINABILITY 16/ CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION VISIT WWW.WEA.ORG.AU FOR MORE INFORMATION 56 MAY 2016 JULY 21-22, 2016 / BLENHEIM, NZ NEW ZEALAND NATIONAL FT022 Actor, broadcaster, television presenter and wine writer Oz Clarke - the man who helped put New Zealand Wine on the map - has been inducted into the New Zealand Wine Hall of Fame on International Sauvignon Blanc Day. The first person in the United Kingdom to receive this honour - and only the second non-Kiwi (after Australian David Hohnen in 2006) to be recognised for having made major contributions to the development and enhancement of the domestic and export-based wine industry in New Zealand – Clarke was presented his certificate of membership at New Zealand House in London this month. “There had never before been a wine that crackled and spat its flavours at you from the glass,” Clarke said at the inaugural International Sauvignon Blanc Celebration, held in Marlborough earlier this year, where he captivated the audience as a keynote speaker with his first memories of tasting New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Clarke first visited New Zealand in 1987 as a guest overseas judge at the inaugural Air New Zealand Wine Awards, the country’s premier national wine competition. He revisited a few years later to judge, and has been a regular keynote speaker at the triennial Pinot Noir International events held in Wellington since 2001. He has appeared on numerous radio and television shows, has written many award-winning books and made three successful BBC television series. In 2008, he was named as the most recognised wine critic in the UK, and in 2010 won the TRIC Award alongside James May for best documentary for ‘Oz and James Drink to Britain’. Chairman of the New Zealand Wine Hall of Fame Trust Bob Campbell says Clarke is special to Kiwi winemakers. “In 1984 Oz was among the first to recognise that Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc had added a new style and flavour to the world of wine, and he never stopped saying it to anyone who would listen,” he says. “Then, in 2001 he rated our best Pinot Noirs as being up there with the best of Burgundy – not better than but comparable with and complementary in style.” NZ WINE HALL OF FAME The first person in the United Kingdom to receive this honour - and only the second non-Kiwi (after Australian David Hohnen in 2006)
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