Wine Research Symposium Speakers

Professor Steve Wratten, Lincoln University 

Steve is Professor of Ecology at Lincoln University and Visiting Professor at Charles Sturt University. He is Deputy Director of the Bio-Protection Research Centre, a Centre of Research Excellence.

Having worked at the universities of London, Southampton, Cambridge and the UK, Steve holds three doctorates and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. He has around 400 refereed publications, including six books. His main research concerns evaluating and enhancing “nature’s services” (ecosystem services). Using resource economics techniques, the existing value of these services (such things as biological control of pests, pollination, soil formation) is estimated and then habitat manipulation (“ecological engineering”) is used to enhance these services on farmland to provide profit and real evidence of sustainability. This work is done across several agricultural sectors but the most prominent work is in vineyards – see http://bioprotection.org.nz/greening-waipara

Alayna Renata, MWH Consultants 

Alayna applied for He Tohu Pōkairua while at Queen’s High School in Dunedin. She was awarded a Bursary Māori and PE, but as she was only 17, moving away from home was a big step. The whānau aspect of Pōkairua was perfect for Alayna as a 17 year old and, by completing the course, she gained university entrance which was an incentive.

The workload was a combination of kapa haka, mythology and serious academic essay writing, and you had to choose an elective. Alayna hated it, but learned so much and now it’s a passion for her.

After He Tohu Pōkairu, Alayna’s horizons really broadened. Following completion of a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture at Lincoln University, graduating in 2006, she then set up her own landscape architecture business, specialising in Māori community projects. She is now working for MWH Consultants (a global group) – still specialising in Māori clients.

Alayna works on projects which aim to restore biodiversity and will be presenting at the URBIO2010 conference in Japan on Urban Biodiversity in a New Zealand context.

Dr Caroline Saunders, Lincoln University

Caroline has 20 years research expertise in the UK and New Zealand. She has over 100 publications specialising on sustainable economic development. Her current research includes evaluating trade and the environment, including assessment of international markets policies and their impact on development. This involves developing and using the Lincoln Trade and Environment Model to assess impacts on trade of various factors such as changing policy, market trends, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, and the development of new technologies. She has undertaken research for a wider range of private and public bodies both in New Zealand and overseas. These include the EU commission, MAF, MFAT, Treasury, MFE , MED, NZTE, Fonterra, Meat Industry and various other sector groups.

Dr Jo Fountain, Lincoln University 

Dr Joanna Fountain is a Senior Lecturer in Tourism at Lincoln University, Christchurch. Joanna has been actively involved in wine tourism research for the past five years, focusing primarily on visitors’ experiences of the winery cellar door. She has been involved also in examining visitor experiences of the biodiversity trails established as part of the Greening Waipara project. These projects have explored the requirements for a memorable winery experience and how to build brand loyalty through the cellar door. She is currently researching generational differences in wine consumption and wine tourism demands, paying particular attention to the needs of the emerging Generation Y market.

Sharon Forbes, Lincoln University 

Sharon is a Lecturer of Marketing at Lincoln University. Her academic qualifications are also from Lincoln University and include: a Bachelor of Viticulture & Oenology undergraduate degree, a Commerce Honours degree, and a PhD in Marketing. Sharon’s PhD examined the factors influencing the purchase behaviour of wine consumers in New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Papers from this research have been presented at a number of domestic and international conferences and published in various journals. Whilst consumer behaviour is her primary research interest, Sharon has also carried out a number of other wine-related research projects in areas such as: supply chain management, consumer taste preferences, and the production and marketing of ‘green’ wines.

Dr Brent Clothier, Plant and Food Research 

Based in Palmerston North, Brent is a soil physicist and environmental scientist who is Science Leader of the Sustainable Land Use team within Plant and Food Research.

Brent has a BSc (Hons) (1974) from Canterbury University, and a PhD (1977) and DSc (2002) in soil science from Massey University. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand, the Soil Science Society of America, the American Agronomy Society, the New Zealand Soil Science Society, and the American Geophysical Union. He received the Don & Betty Kirkham Soil Physics Award from the Soil Science Society of America in 2000, and the Prescott Medal of the Australian Society of Soil Science in 2001. Brent is on the Council of the Academy of Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand, and he is Chair of Commission 4.1 (Soil & the Environment) of the International Union of Soil Science.

In his 30-year research career, Brent has published over 175 scientific papers on the movement and fate of water and chemicals in production systems and the environment. He has led projects on risk assessments of land-use practices and the protection of soils, surface water, and groundwater from contamination, both in New Zealand, and in the Pacific islands. Brent is the Programme Leader of New Zealand's major soil-science research programme SLURI (Sustainable Land Use Research Initiative www.sluri.org.nz )

Brent is Joint Editor-in-Chief of Agricultural Water Management, and he is a corresponding member of the Editorial Board of the Australian Journal of Soil Research.

Dr Roger Boulton 

Roger studies the chemical and biochemical engineering aspects of winemaking and distilled spirits production. His work involves fermentation and reaction kinetics; physical and chemical stability of wines; the mathematical modeling, computer simulation and control of enological operations; winery design (winemaking equipment selection, winery design and layout) and the economics of investment and operation. His current research involves a major effort into the phenomenon of copigmentation, a major colour phenomenon in red wines, as well as fermentation interests involving juice composition and sulfide formation.

Roger's teaching covers the general areas of the physical and chemical stability of wines (VEN 126, 126L), the process equipment and winery design (VEN 135, 235), the production of distilled spirits from fermented beverages (VEN 140) and Biomanufacturing (ECH 160). He is a member of the Jurade de Saint Emilion and was appointed the Stephen Sinclair Scott Endowed Chair in Enology in January 2000.

In 2000, he was also named among "the 50 Most influential people in the US Wine Industry" by Wines and Vines Magazine. In 1998, he and three colleagues (Vernon Singleton, Linda Bisson and Ralph Kunkee) received the Office International de la Vigne et du Vin (OIV) Prize in Oenology for their text The Principles and Practices of Winemaking. This text has been translated into Spanish and Chinese while still in its first edition.

Roger has been awarded the Outstanding Paper of the Year prize in the American Journal for Enology and Viticulture on four occasions, and was the Eminent Speaker in Chemical Engineering, chosen by the Australian Institute of Engineers in 1995. He has significant international involvement in the development of enology curricula, the teaching of short courses and advising wineries throughout the world. Dr. Boulton received both his Bachelor's and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Melbourne, Australia.

Kim Hill, Host of Saturday Morning 

Kim was born and raised in Shropshire, the English county bordering Wales. Kim moved to Otorohanga, New Zealand when she was 15 and did a BA in French and German at Massey and Otago’s Universities, and then spent time as a masseuse.

Kim was then accepted for Canterbury University's Postgraduate School of Journalism. She joined Radio New Zealand in Gisborne after completing the Christchurch course. A stint in Greymouth followed - as did a period writing for the Nelson Evening Mail - before Kim arrived in Wellington to join the current affairs show, Checkpoint. Next came Morning Report, with Geoff Robinson, where she quickly gained a high profile for her probing, persistent style of questioning.

When Kim became the host of the daily morning programme Nine to Noon in 1993, it quickly became essential listening. In the nine years she was host, she interviewed thousands of people. Among her guests were the famous (the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela) and the infamous (Jeffrey Archer and Monica Lewinsky).

Kim began hosting the Saturday Morning Show on April 20, 2002. This programme gives her the opportunity for expansive interviews with guests - be they scientists, historians, theologians, psychiatrists, novelists, or just characters or high achievers - while also taking in some leisurely interests: food, classic literature and poetry, children's books and music.

After quick forays in television in the early 1990s she began hosting the one-one-one interview programme 'Face to Face With Kim Hill' in March, 2003.

Rod Brodie, Auckland University 

Rod Brodie is Professor and Head of Department of Marketing at the University of Auckland of Business School. His research and teaching experience is in the areas of marketing theory, strategy, branding, and services. He has published extensively in leading international journals and also serves on the editorial boards of a number of these journals. He has consulted with a range of government and business areas of strategy and branding and acted as an expert witness in a number of landmark cases. In the last decade he has specialised in wine business research and is one of the founders of the International Academy of Wine Business Research. In February 2010 he was the chair of the 5th conference that was hosted by the University of Auckland.

Rod Jackson, Auckland University 

Rod Jackson is a professor of Epidemiology at the School of Population Health, University of Auckland. He is medically trained, has a PhD in Epidemiology and is a member of the New Zealand College of Public Health Medicine. His main research interest for the past 30 years has been the epidemiology of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and has also conducted a number of research projects on asthma and road traffic injury. He is one of the architects of New Zealand risk-based clinical guidelines for managing CVD risk. He leads a team that developed PREDICT, a web-based clinical decision support system that helps clinicians assess and manage CVD risk. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed papers.

Richard Mitchell, University of Otago 

Dr Richard Mitchell is senior lecturer in tourism at the University of Otago. He has a research career spanning over a decade that explores different aspects of the relationship between people, place, food and drink, especially wine and food tourism. He has more than 100 publications including Wine Marketing: a practical guide (with Michael Hall) and several chapters in Wine Tourism Around the World, Food Tourism Around the World (which he also co-edited) and Food and Wine Festivals and Events Around the World . In 2007/8 he was visiting professor to the Chair in Champagne Management in Reims (France) and briefly at Bordeaux Business School. He is active in the business community as, amongst other things, a member of the management committee of the New Zealand Food and Wine Tourism Network (Chair 2008-2010), advisor to the Otago Farmers Market Trust and Winemakers Federation of Australia, and contractor to New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. In his spare time he is a junior rugby coach, marathoner and triathlete, blogger (www.semi-ironman.blogspot.com) and amateur cook.

Robyn Wood 

Professor Robyn Wood is Strategic Professor of Viniculture in the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre at Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia. Robyn is also a Director and Principal Viticulture Consultant with Ecovinia International Pty Ltd.

The National Wine and Grape Industry Centre (NWGIC) is an alliance of Charles Sturt University (CSU), the NSW Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI) and the NSW Wine Industry Association (NSW WIA). The NWGIC uses knowledge generated by scientific research to drive value-adding innovation within the industry through its extension, education and training channels.

Robyn has nearly 30 years of commercial experience in viticulture across all winegrowing regions of Australia and internationally. In both executive and consultancy roles, she has worked with several major wine companies. Most recently Robyn was responsible for the establishment and management of large-scale multiple sites for horticulture encompassing over 6,000 ha of grapevines, olives and almonds throughout Australia.

Robyn was awarded a PhD in plant physiology from University of Newcastle for her research on plant photosynthates and potassium transport. Throughout her career she has being actively involved in scientific research and has supervised a number of post-graduate students and published in scientific and technical journals.

Robyn’s passion for all aspects of viticulture is underpinned her strong commitment to commercially and environmentally sustainable grape production for high value wines. Her experiences and qualifications underpin her perspectives on balanced plant growth as the key to self-sustaining vineyard ecosystems.

James Millton

James Millton has worked and trained all his life in the winegrowing industry completing relevant wine courses in Bordeaux, France and Mainz, Germany. He established his own wine company in 1984 and is considered a pioneer in bio-dynamic wine culture both in New Zealand and internationally. His vineyards are in the top ten oldest estates in the world to adopt this innovative practice. He has been instrumental in establishing OWNZ (Organic Winegrowers of New Zealand) of which he is the present Chairman. He has sat on the council of the Bio-dynamic Farming and Gardening Association and was also a senior wine judge in a number of wine competitions. He is involved in sabbatical work every 3 years in the wine regions of France. Millton is a member of the wine collective “The Family of Twelve” and together with his wife Annie they manage and work their companies, Millton Vineyards and Winery and Clos Ste. Anne. They are domiciled in the wine appellation of Gisborne, on the east coast of the North Island where they produce 15000 cases of wine per annum and export some of this production to seven countries around the world.