Speakers
At the ripe old age of 15 I decided to leave my home in a small village in the east of the Netherlands, and live and work on the other side of my country: The Hague. This was to start working in the hospitality industry, since they are often keen to soak up young gold diggers who have no idea what they’re doing (yet).
It was also the start of a further journey for work, study and general travel that took me to Amsterdam, Scotland, Spain, USA, Australia, South America to finally settle for New Zealand in 2003. Yes, you might notice that this is about as far away from my home country as possible. That is more out of a bit of luck, opportunity and interest in the New Zealand wine industry, than anything else.
I finished my Post-Graduate Diploma in Viticulture and Oenology degree at Lincoln University and moved to Martinborough because of the lure of their Pinot noir and the fact that it is a tiny community that deserves discovery. My winegrowing career took further momentum when my friends invited me to come and join their team at Dry River Wines in 2009, where I remained until 2022 as their Chief Winemaker.
With the sale of Dry River in late 2022 came a new opportunity: to begin a journey with the entire Dry River team. This was a unique opportunity to move on as one and create something new: Oraterra Wines.
Oraterra is the continuation of a shared history, bond and vision: growing wines with intent, that tell a story of personality and community.