I can
think of no less a deserving recipient than Richard
Riddiford as an inductee to the New Zealand Wine Hall of
Fame. At a ceremony at the 2010 Royal
Easter Show Wine Awards, Richard along with noted grape grower Ross Goodin had
their names added to an august list of people who have been recognised for
their significant contributions to the New Zealand wine industry in terms of
development and enhancement, both domestically and with an export focus.
Richard
has been the managing director of Palliser Estate since 1988, and has overseen
the growth and consolidation of that company to the present day. From the original Om Santi vineyard in which
he invested in 1984, Richard was instrumental in the addition of the Palliser,
Pencarrow, Pinnacles and Clouston vineyards and the full growth of varietals
and wine ranges employed by the company.
Such is the drive, foresight and practice, that Palliser Estate has been
accredited ISO standard 14001, and thus is a leader in environmental
sustainability, and importantly in these economic times completely debt-free.
However,
Richard has not only been behind the success of Palliser Estate, but promoted
the Martinborough region and the New Zealand wine industry to the
world. In 1992, Richard became the
inaugural chair of the Toast Martinborough festival, and continued to 1999. He
served on the board at the Wine Institute of New Zealand from 2000-2004 and was
a foundation member on the board of New Zealand Winegrowers. Richard also chaired the board for Pinot Noir
2001 and Pinot Noir 2004, arguably one of the most important events for
promoting New Zealand’s
main red variety to the world. On a
personal note, it was Richard who invited me to serve as the Wine Director for
these events; it was an invitation that I could not refuse! It was a wonderful experience to see Richard
in action providing unmatched energy, drive and vision, and his strong, leadership
and outstanding management skills.
This
induction is a worthy follow up to Richard’s 1999 Queen’s Birthday honours as a
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for services to the deer and
wine industries. I raise a glass of
Palliser Estate Pinot Noir 2008 in toasting you, Richard!
The New
Zealand Wine Hall of Fame
For
interest, following is the complete list of those inducted to the New Zealand
Wine Hall of Fame:
Inaugural 2005: James Busby, Romeo
Bragato, Heinrich Breidecker, Charles Levet, Joseph Soler, Israel Wendel, Friedrich
Wohnsiedler, Assid Abraham Corban, Tom McDonald OBE, FWINZ, George Mazuran OBE,
FWINZ
2006: Mate Brajkovich OBE, FWINZ, Alex
Corban OBE, FWINZ, David Hohnen, Frank Yukich FWINZ
2007: Joseph Annis Corban, MBE, FWINZ, Dr
Richard Smart, Ross R. Spence QSO, FNZW
2008: Bryan William Mogridge ONZM, Kevyn
Douglas Moore QSM
2009: Peter Vernon Hubscher MNZM, Terence
John Dunleavy MBE, FWINZ
2010: Ross Goodin ONZM, Richard Daniel
Riddiford MNZM
My
thanks to the New Zealand Winegrower, Vol 13 – Issue 5, and Terry Dunleavy for
the material in this blog.
- Raymond Chan