Doug Wisor Memorial Scholarship APPLICATIONS close Monday, October 31st, 2011
Doug Wisor was a brilliant young American born winemaker at Craggy Range Winery who passed away
in New Zealand following a tragic kite surfing accident. During his time with Craggy Range, Doug made some of the greatest wines New Zealand has seen.
The Scholarship, administered by the American Australian Association, supports a young American winemaker to travel to New Zealand to intern at Craggy Range Winery for a vintage. The Doug Wisor Memorial Fund will provide return airfares from the US, whilst Craggy Range will provide accommodation and a modest salary for the duration of the vintage, which runs from approximately March until May 2012. The recipient will also be given the opportunity to tour New Zealand's diverse wine regions at the completion of their internship.
Ben Riccardi, 2010 scholarship recipient, has shared his experiences of working a vintage at Craggy Range Winery:
Working at several wineries in New York, plus Chile and Australia has been instrumental to my success, but I will happily say that no experience parallels that which I had at Craggy Range on behalf of the Doug Wisor Memorial Scholarship.
Craggy Range is a special winery with a unique focus. There is a highly set goal to make exceptional single vineyard wines from across New Zealand. Even though Craggy is a larger sized winery, its focus maintains an atmosphere much like a boutique outlet. That creates a special work environment where all wine is made in small lots, with steadfast care. More importantly though, it means that Craggy naturally attracts a high calibre roster of people who are a pleasure to work with and know exactly what it takes to see great fruit become great wine.
The Ultimate highlight is of course the trip around the New Zealand's wine regions. Rod Easthope arranged a brilliant itinerary, where I met heaps of great winemakers. In Martinborough, I stopped at Palliser, Ata Rangi, and Escarpment. Marlborough meant visits with Lawson's Dry Hills, Fromm, Cloudy Bay, Villa Maria, Seresin, Nautilus, and Isabel. With an overnight in Waipara, I met with Pegasus Bay and Muddy Water, after which I went to Central Otago, to see Felton Road, Olsen's, and Rippon. Finally, I made it up to Nelson to talk with the staff at Neudorf and Seifried. That was wine tasting at a level like I had never done, where over and over again I could listen to the winemaker and use my senses to understand the differences of their different plots which they so proudly highlighted.
It is a great honor in any case to be selected for a scholarship, and the Doug Wisor Scholarship went far beyond my expectations. This was a wonderful opportunity in which I learned a massive amount and saw a whole new world of winemaking possibilities. As nations develop around the world, we American winemakers should embrace an opportunity like this scholarship to learn foreign styles and more of the global wine market. In the near future, our wines will almost certainly have to find their way beyond our traditional home market. To that end, within New Zealand no winery can compare to Craggy Range, for its access to exceptional fruit from many regions means a breadth of style, and its reputation and global aspiration teaches much about the wine marketing.
