THE AMW COMMITTEE

John Buchanan

Mount Riley Wines - Chair

John is Managing Director of Mount Riley Wines. He was a Chartered Accountant in Auckland for many years, but knew Marlborough well as his Grandparents lived there, and John spent most Christmas's at their farm. John's Mother was a 4th generation Marlburian. Mount Riley purchased its first vineyard in 1992 and now has 17 sites located throughout the Marlborough grape growing region. John is interested in all facets of the wine industry and has been a senior judge and panel leader at many NZ wine shows. 

John believes a Marlborough appellation was necessary to differentiate wine of member producers from those wines which are cropped at high yields and not subject to the controls of bottling in NZ. The assurance the AMW mark carries is vitally important to brand Marlborough and the New Zealand Wine industry. John is a founding member of Appellation Marlborough Wine and in an enthusiastic supporter of the society.

Clive Jones

Nautilus Estate - Vice Chair

Clive Jones joined Nautilus Estate as Winemaker in August 1998. After completing the 2021 season, he is now a 30-vintage veteran of the Marlborough wine industry. Clive originally trained as an industrial chemist before being drawn to the wine industry as a passionate wine consumer. He is a past Chair of Marlborough Winegrowers and is the current Chair of New Zealand Winegrowers.

Provenance and authenticity are becoming more and more important to the consumer. The goals and aspirations of Appellation Marlborough Wine, along with the strong collective message by the wine companies involved, gives consumers this assurance when they choose an AMW certified Marlborough wine. It has been a privilege to be part of the establishment of AMW and help to shape a pathway for Marlborough wine into the future.

Simon Barker

Barkers Marque Wines - Treasurer & Secretary

Simon Barker, of Barkers Marque Wines, is founder, owner, grape grower, winemaker and general dogsbody for this young wine company, which has grown to fifty thousand twelve pack cases in a little over 10 years. Coming to winemaking relatively late in life, in his early thirties, Simon genuinely followed his passion and, after studying and travelling the world winemaking for several years, landed in Marlborough in 2002 and simply never left. Simon’s philosophy is simple – spend as much time as possible in the vineyard, apply the right blend of art and science and, above all, work hard.

On AMW… “AMW’s core values align so completely with ours that it would have been ridiculous for us not to get involved. I feel very privileged to serve on the board”.

Ivan Sutherland

Dog Point Vineyards - Committee Member

Ivan is one of the early private pioneers of the Marlborough viticulture industry, and along with his wife Margaret, has established many of their own vineyards on selected sites in the Wairau and Southern Valleys, one of these becoming known as Dog Point. The couple had long planned of starting a small quality-focused label using fruit from their own vineyards. Ivan and good friend, James Healy launched their Dog Point label in February 2004. Dog Point wine continues to occupy most of Ivan’s time since they adopted together a very ’hands-on’ attitude from growing, winemaking through to marketing their Dog Point wine.

Ivan, along with John Forrest and John Buchanan was instrumental in the formation of Appellation Marlborough Wine. Ivan got involved with AMW “to protect the authenticity, integrity and reputation of an Internationally recognised wine region and in particular an iconic wine that many producers have worked hard to build”.

Belinda Jackson

Lawson's Dry Hills - Committee Member

Belinda’s life-long passion for wine began in Bordeaux in the mid-eighties, before returning to the UK and undertaking sales and marketing roles. Prior to coming to NZ in ’95 she was the Wine Category Manager for one of the big brewers, where she was responsible for sourcing and marketing some 750,000 cases of wine from all over the world to more than 15,000 on-premise outlets. In NZ, Belinda worked sourcing wine, managing brands and developing marketing strategies within liquor retail. She then set up as an independent consultant, working across many aspects of the NZ wine industry, including establishing two of NZ’s leading wine competitions. She has three books published and has been a regular wine commentator on Radio NZ. Belinda joined Lawson’s Dry Hills as Group Marketing Manager in 2014.

Belinda has always been a believer in contributing to wider industry, and community, initiatives that deliver stronger outcomes for all stakeholders. AMW does this by promoting something that’s at the heart of all great wine - provenance. 

Yang Shen

Cloudy Bay Vineyards - Committee Member

Yang’s journey into wine began in France, where he studied winemaking in Montpellier and wine marketing & management in Bordeaux. After serving as the founder and managing director of Domaine Chandon China in 2011, Yang joined Cloudy Bay in 2016. His role as Estate Director means ensuring the intertwined stories of Cloudy Bay and Marlborough are told with passion across the globe. Yang says, “in just a few decades, Marlborough has established itself as a beloved and distinctive fine wine region. Protecting our reputation for quality and consistency means putting our consumers first. Across the globe, we want people to trust what is in the bottle of wine they are purchasing, knowing they will enjoy every sip. It’s this vision that drives Appellation Marlborough Wine, a vision that makes me proud to be a member”.

Sophie Parker-Thomson MW

Blank Canvas Wines - Committee Member

Sophie is the general manager and co-owner of Blank Canvas, which is founded on the premise of producing small-batch fine wines from exceptional single vineyard sites. Blank Canvas is proud to be a founding member of Appellation Marlborough Wine.

Sophie is Marlborough’s resident Master of Wine and is currently the only South Island-based MW having been awarded this prestigious qualification in February 2021. She originally trained as a lawyer but has lived and breathed wine her entire life through her family's winery and hospitality businesses in both Gisborne and Central Otago. She has lived in Marlborough for the past 11 years with her winemaker husband Matt Thomson and daughter Isabella. Sophie is a staunch advocate of the inherent quality of Marlborough wines and is constantly looking for ways to promote and tell the stories of the quality-driven producers of the region. She is deeply committed to protecting and promoting the integrity, reputation and provenance of Marlborough wine globally, seeing the development of AMW as a fundamental step in Marlborough’s evolution as a world-class wine growing region. 

Rich Ellis

The Marlborist - Committee Member

Richard’s passion for the art of winemaking started at an early age, with a school holiday vintage experience at Ata Rangi, one of New Zealand's great pinot noir producers. Sparking a career that has spanned nearly 20 years and has taken him around the world both making and selling wine, his most recent appointment was a 7-year-stint as winemaker for Greywacke in Marlborough, working alongside sauvignon blanc pioneer, Kevin Judd. Today he leads the winemaking program and is general manager for The Marlborist, a company he co-founded with good friends Stuart Dudley & David Nash.

Richard joined AMW to provide a voice for the next generation of Marlborough producers and to ensure that decisions made now will benefit the region well into the future.

Andrew Brown

Framingham Wines - Committee Member

Andrew grew up in South Otago, NZ, on a sheep and beef farm. He developed a taste for wine whilst completing a degree in Leisure Studies so quickly detoured his studies to focus on the wine industry. 17 vintages under his belt and he's never looked back. Andrew is Winemaker at Framingham Wines.

Matthew Ward

Catalina Sounds - Committee Member

Matt is a born and bred Marlburian so it was no surprise when the wine industry captured his attention at a relatively early age. He honed his craft with some of New Zealand’s most renowned wineries and has travelled further afield to deepen his appreciation for the wine industry. Matt is the talented winemaker behind Catalina Sounds and is enjoying discovering the nuances of Marlborough's picturesque Waihopai Valley.

Amanda McRae

AMW - Executive Officer

Amanda McRae is the Appellation Marlborough Wine Administrator. Since moving to Marlborough in 2014 Amanda has been involved in the wine industry, working at Spy Valley Wines before taking over the administration of AMW in 2019. Amanda is passionate about protecting Marlborough wine for future generations to enjoy and ensuring wines reflect the provenance of Marlborough.