The Family of Twelve Wine Tutorial 2019



“Boldly the Family again steps up with our largest single investment in the future of New Zealand fine wine” Family Chair Paul Donaldson. It’s the second Family of Twelve Wine Tutorial and it’s taking place in August this year.

“This year’s tutorial will be another extraordinary and exciting learning opportunity for the twelve successful wine industry participants. It will deliver another exhilarating, world class event. There is nothing like it in the country.”

“For one weekend our Family of 12 will become a Family of 24” says Paul Donaldson. The Family is known for innovation – we set up this  collaborative marketing company 15 years ago and this tutorial is marking a path for the future.

Photo left to right: Clive Weston (Nautilus Estate), Miyuki Morimoto (The Grove Restaurant), Karen Fistonich (Villa Maria Estate), Meg Abbott-Walker (Educator and Wine Consultant)

Photo left to right: Clive Weston (Nautilus Estate), Miyuki Morimoto (The Grove Restaurant), Karen Fistonich (Villa Maria Estate), Meg Abbott-Walker (Educator and Wine Consultant)

From an impressive field of applicants, we have a cohort of twelve passionate and energised participants comprising of five Australians, six Kiwis and one Kiwi soon heading off to the UK. The group includes Banjo Harris Plane from The Wine Gallery in Melbourne, Richard Healy and Lisa Cardelli from the Rockpool Dining Group in Sydney and Melbourne. Taupo’s Dion Wai from Huka Lodge and Miyuki Morimoto from The Grove Restaurant in Auckland are among the Kiwis.

Please see http://familyoftwelve.co.nz/wine-tutorial—class-of-2019/ for the full participant list. The participants will be tutored by eight Family winemakers. This year’s team will be led by Blair Walter of Felton Road with Stephen Wong MW adding dimension as this year’s external moderator.

Through a series of blind-tasting workshops we’ll showcase the Family’s best amongst line-ups of fine and captivating wines. “This year we’ve gathered a dazzling collection of wines from many great estates across the wine world – I know many winemakers will be envious” says Blair Walter.

“Our kiwi wine business needs both excellence in marketing and distribution. But it also needs our gatekeepers to be valued and encouraged. The tutorial is a way of expressing our gratitude for the work done on the restaurant and wine shop floor. These people are our ambassadors and we hope these tutorials will help develop the skills of those showing potential to take New Zealand wine’s message of diversity and character to the world.

As a producer of quality wine, selling at enviable prices New Zealand relies on our future leaders and ambassadors to nourish this momentum in a personal and committed way – congratulations and all the very best to our participants. We know this tutorial is challenging but don’t forget it is also hugely enjoyable. Serious fun is a family motto” says Paul Donaldson. The tutorial will be held at Villa Maria’s Auckland estate 4-6th August. The 12 participants will be treated to superb wines from New Zealand and across the world, eat memorable meals and be embraced by the family
chat and stories.

About the Tutorial
The Family of Twelve Wine Tutorial is an immersive residential seminar held over two working days and three nights. The second annual tutorial will be held at Villa Maria’s Auckland estate 4th-7th August 2019 with subsequent fixtures held in different Family locations and is open globally to those working with New Zealand wine, in the areas of sommelier, retailer or wine educator.

Comprising of tasting workshops during the day followed by dinners with wine options and speakers the tutorial will challenge participants in the way they approach wine appraisal and communicating their thoughts about wine. Participants will be pushed to the limit, learning and tasting in an intensive environment.

The tastings will feature a wide selection of Family wines. These will be presented alongside benchmark examples of wine from many of the world’s great wine regions.

At the conclusion of the tutorial one of the twelve participants receive ‘The Family of Twelve Award’. They will also receive a collection of the Family’s hero wines, in magnum, for their cellar. Additionally, a New Zealand based participant will receive a prize sponsored by The Institute of Masters of Wine to join the first two days of the Australasian seminar for MW students in Adelaide.

The tutorial wouldn’t be possible without the generous support of our sponsors. Glassware will be provided by Riedel, mineral water by Antipodes and beer by the Garage Project. The Family warmly thanks our sponsors for their support.

About The Family of Twelve
Twelve exceptional New Zealand wineries, eight wine regions, celebrating fine wine and friendship Our members are scattered the length and breadth of New Zealand but we come together to celebrate our successes, share our stories and knowledge. We also share a desire to create  extraordinary wine.

We’re New Zealand’s wine family, The Family of Twelve. Founded in 2005, our vision is to nurture long term relationships with an emphasis on education. Our wines are as diverse as the flora and fauna of New Zealand – and so are we. We all have different stories to tell but with similar threads running through them – of travelling the world, pioneering something new and letting the land speak for itself to help deliver the very best of what wine can be.

Some family trees have legacies reaching through the centuries. Many are nuclear. A few are royal. Not this one – far from conventional, this is a family of wine families.
www.familyoftwelve.co.nz
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