We're proud to support the New Zealand wine industry as a sponsor of the 2018 NZ Winegrowers Romeo Bragato National Conference, held recently in Wellington. As one of the most important events on the New Zealand wine calendar, the conference attracts a diverse audience. Attended by Anne-Marie Sutton, Murray Davis and John Coull, the event was an inspiring and thought provoking couple of days for the industry.

The theme of the conference was Think Smart, Look Ahead. Over the course of the two days there were numerous speakers and workshops of exceptional quality. Technology disruptors, protectionism, biosecurity and climate change are some of the many challenges ahead for the wine sector, and each were addressed by turning these threats into opportunities for the industry.

Particular highlights were Dr Alison Stewart and Nanogirl Michelle Dickinson who challenged the industry about its future, embracing technology, and truly understanding the customers of tomorrow.  Alanna and Pete Chapman talked of the launch of their label 27 Seconds where all profits go towards ending modern day slavery. Dr Matias Kinzurik bravely told the audience he could produce synthetic wines of comparable quality to traditional wines, and much discussion was also dedicated to Millennials and the future role they will play for the industry.

We were pleased to sponsor the workshop ‘Your Wine on the World Stage - Promoting Your Wine Overseas’. The session covered trends and challenges across New Zealand’s key focus markets (Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe and USA) and the best ways to promote your wine overseas.

Finally significant attention was given to the Young Viticulturist of the Year Award which was won by Annabel Bulk from Felton Road in Central Otago. Over the course of the two days we heard speeches from the finalists as well as videos of their efforts in the competition. Annabel was announced as the winner at the Conference Dinner on the final night – congratulations.

We are thrilled to be (back) making beautiful labels for wine producers across New Zealand. We have an industry-leading Gallus RCS330 label press now located at our plant in Christchurch. The RCS is widely recognised as the pinnacle of flexographic wine label presses and we’re pleased to be able to offer an immense amount of printing power to New Zealand wine producers, especially those located in the South Island. We also have a fully-embellished digital short run offer and quite some pedigree in digital printing on our HP Indigo presses. Our extensive selection of materials and special coatings are available to the smallest boutique wineries right through to high-volume brands, and our expertise in wine label printing and application goes back more than 14 years. Contact one of our label experts who’d love to help with your wine labelling needs.