Age no factor as youngest Young Winemaker of the Year puts judging skills to the test at New World Wine Awards

Alena Kamper judging at the 2024 New World Wine Awards in Napier.

As a battle for New World’s best tipple made its debut in Hawke’s Bay, one local associate judge proved you don’t have to be aged like fine wine to know your reds from whites.

At only 22, Hawke’s Bay’s Alena Kamper, of Sacred Hill Wines, was the youngest person to win the coveted title of Tonnellerie de Mercurey New Zealand Young Winemaker of the Year in November.

Not only did she claim the title, but earned herself a spot as an associate judge in the 2024 New World Wine Awards held in Napier last week, where more than 1280 wines from throughout Aotearoa and the world were put to the test.

Competition stewards were set to pour more than 10,000 glasses for the independent judges, who divided into panels to share the load of entries and assess about 100 wines each a day for three days starting on Wednesday.

It’s the first time the event has been held in Hawke’s Bay, often touted as one of the Great Wine Capitals of the World.

“While some may feel envious of the task, tasting some of the best wines around, [it] involves a lot of logistics and hard work,” chairman of judges Jen Parr explained.

But Kamper was more than ready for the challenge when she spoke to Hawke’s Bay Today, despite her whirlwind rise from science superstar to wine aficionado.

“I loved science in high school and at the end of school, thought,’what next’?” she said.

A chance encounter with an old science teacher helped answer that question pretty quickly.

“She was head of school for viticulture and wine at EIT at the time and recommended the course to me. I looked into it, and it was super-science-y and seemed like a cool industry to go into.”

For Kamper, wine was very much a “social thing” in her family growing up, and not a significant influence.

“It was a bit of a shot in the dark, but I studied it for four years and absolutely loved it.”

After two vintages at Villa Maria that she “loved to bits”, she finished studying and scored a job as a cellar hand at Sacred Hill, where she’s been since.

She’d seen people compete for New Zealand Young Winemaker of the Year, but had no clue she’d win the regional finals, let alone become the national champ.

“It was a little bit overwhelming. It definitely wasn’t expected.”

Associate judges Alena Kamper (left) and Mary-Therese Blair discuss an entry.

On Wednesday she sipped syrahs and carefully analysed chardonnays under the guidance of more experienced judges, and she said it was a massive learning opportunity.

“You don’t get the chance to do much judging in this industry, so when you get the opportunity, you have to grab it with both hands,” Kamper said.

“The judges I’m working with have a plethora of knowledge and have so much to share, it’s been amazing.”

Parr said from the first swirl of sauvignon to the last sip of merlot, judges worked to give each wine the time and consideration it deserved. They also used the internationally recognised 100-point system to score wines on technical excellence.

“It’s definitely a test. Your pallet can get a bit tired, and you often don’t get to try that many wines per day, so it’s quite challenging, but also quite fun,” Kamper said.

She admitted while many judges and winemakers were older, she thought it was great to come in with a younger perspective on the wine market.

“I think you sort of have more of a viewpoint around people and consumers around your age. I feel like sometimes the winemakers have spent so long perfecting their craft and love it, but it’s nice to come in with fresh eyes.”

“They’re trying to market to consumers my age, so it’s nice talking to friends and family about what they like.”

Kamper plans to travel for a while and build on her winemaking skills before hopefully becoming a fulltime winemaker.

“The beauty of this business is that you might not even know what job you end up in. There are options you don’t even think about.”

The Top 50 winning wines from the competition will earn nationwide promotional support and distribution through more than 140 New World stores. The New World Wine Awards Top 50 under $25 will be announced in October.

Mitchell Hageman joined Hawke’s Bay Today in January 2023. From his Napier base, he writes regularly on social issues, arts and culture, and the community. He has a particular love for stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things.