Oz Clarke joins NZ Wine Hall of Fame

Wine writer and broadcaster Oz Clarke is to become the first person from the UK to be inducted into the New Zealand Wine Hall of Fame.

Oz Clarke will be inducted into the New Zealand Wine Hall of Fame on International Sauvignon Blanc Day on May 6

Clarke, who is credited as one of the original wine commentators to have put New Zealand Wine on the map, will receive the Hall of Fame accolade on International Sauvignon Blanc Day on Friday May 6, New Zealand Winegrowers announced.

As well as being the first Brit to receive this honour, Clarke is only the second non-Kiwi (after Australian David Hohnen in 2006) to be recognised for having made major contributions to the development and enhancement of the domestic and export-based wine industry in New Zealand.

A passionate New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc enthusiast and advocate, Oz will be presented with his certificate of membership at New Zealand Winegrowers’ flagship Sauvignon Blanc event at New Zealand House in London.

“There had never before been a wine that crackled and spat its flavours at you from the glass,” Clarke said of his first memories of tasting New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, speaking at the inaugural International Sauvignon Blanc Celebration in Marlborough earlier this year.

Clarke first visited New Zealand in 1987 as a guest overseas judge at the inaugural Air New Zealand Wine Awards. He returned several years later to judge, and has been a regular keynote speaker at the triennial Pinot Noir International events held in Wellington since 2001.

Commenting on Clarke’’s induction, Bob Campbell MW, the chairman of the New Zealand Wine Hall of Fame Trust, said: “Oz is special to Kiwi winemakers because, in 1984, he was among the first to recognise that Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc had added a new style and flavour to the world of wine, and he never stopped saying it to anyone who would listen.

“Then, in 2001, he rated our best Pinot Noirs as being up there with the best of Burgundy – not better than but comparable with and complementary in style.” 

‘’On personal and regional levels, Oz has taken the time and trouble to get to know our wine people and their terroirs, and the synergies are such that we have come to regard him as an honorary Kiwi.”