It's a vintage year for George

George Fistonich has followed his own path to create a wine empire. Picture/ Sheena Haywood

* Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year

Swimming against the current paid off again for winemaker George Fistonich last night when he was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

The 44-year wine industry stalwart's company, Villa Maria Estate, which began in modest circumstances in 1961, is now the largest privately owned winery in New Zealand with vineyards in Hawkes Bay, Gisborne, Marlborough and Mangere. It also owns the Vidals and Esk Valley brands.

Chief judge David Johnson said Fistonich was modest with nothing to prove and one of the country's cornerstone entrepreneurs.

"George has an absolute solid belief in himself, his company and its direction. He likes to swim upstream and, after starting from scratch, has gone on to create a cornerstone business," he said.

Fistonich will represent New Zealand in the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in Monte Carlo next year.

Like his wines, Fistonich has had a good year, awarded the Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to wine in June - the highest honour handed out in the Queen's Birthday list.

His winemaking success goes back to his youth when he helped his Croatian father with his acre of grapes in Mangere.

In 1961, the then 21-year-old with little capital and no business plan, leased some of the land to start making wine, which he sold at the cellar door.

Fifteen years later, he bought a second winery, Vidals, in Hawkes Bay where he opened the country's first winery restaurant.

He overcame voluntary receivership as a result of price wars in the mid-1980s and, in the 1990s, raised $9.5 million floating the country's first publicly owned vineyard company, Seddon Vineyards of Marlborough, and then Terra Vitae Vineyards.

Villa Maria now produces 750,000 cases of wine each year, exports to more than 50 countries and employs 230 workers.

Fistonich, worth $85 million on the National Business Review Rich List, is known in the wine world for sniffing out new trends and also pioneered the switch to screwcaps in 2001.

This year, he opened a $30 million winery and vineyard park in Mangere with a restaurant and lake where he plans to hold concerts.

* The four other finalists for the title were: Paul Manning of communications agency Metromedia, Annah Stretton of Stretton Clothing, Katherine Corich of information management company Sysdoc and Ken Stevens of engineers Glidepath.