It may have happened more by accident than design, but Tai Nelson has a job worth raising your glass to.

Tai is vineyard manager at Soljans Estate Winery in Kumeu, and he is the young viticulturist finalist at this year’s Young Horticulturist Competition.

After finishing his schooling in Albany, Tai travelled and studied hospitality management at Auckland University of Technology (AUT). For 18 months post- qualification he worked in an Auckland restaurant. Then an opportunity came up at Soljans and the decision was made to “change lane and go into viticulture”. That was three years ago.

A general wine course he had under his belt (courtesy of his hospitality training) was helpful. More so was part time work he’d enjoyed at Soljans, dating back to his secondary school years. It’s an opportunity that came his way when he began dating his partner Amber, who is of the fifth generation of Soljans operating the winery.

Tai says that early on-the-job learning has been invaluable. He did a bit of cellar work, helped the then vineyard manager out with general labouring, worked at the winery’s on-site restaurant, and assisted in production with packaging and labelling.

These days, as manager, he’s primarily responsible for the vineyard’s requirements, from spraying and maintenance to pruning and harvesting.  The vineyard spans just under two hectares so there’s time for Tai to help out in areas he’s well versed in thanks to those earlier years – production (bottling, labelling, packaging), and assisting the winemaker as a cellar hand. His duties are general, which keeps work life interesting, he says.

“I manage teams at pruning and harvest time and there’s management duties like scheduling spraying and dealing with suppliers, but it’s mostly hands on and mostly outdoors, which I love.

“I get to see the cycle of the grape vines from pruning and tying down what looks like dead trees, then through to harvest with lots of delicious fruit at the end. There’s so much to learn and I love that. It’s very easy to keep learning in this industry. If I’m not learning something new, then I’m putting into practise something I recently learnt,” the happy vintner says.

It’s a desire to keep learning that drove Tai to compete in the Young Viticulturist Competition.

“I wanted to learn more about my industry and what’s expected of me.”

With plenty of Amber’s family on hand, he didn’t have far to go for assistance in preparing for that competition. Amber manages Soljans’ social media in her spare time; her brother (Tyler) works  in sales; her Dad (Chris) manages the bistro; her mum (Tonia) and aunt (Lisa) are fourth generation board members; and her grandad (Tony) still runs the place!

While Soljans produces a range of still wines, the family business is best known for its Méthode Traditionnelle and its port. Soljans also offers a bottling service for other wineries.

If Tai’s celebrating, what Soljans’ wine will he reach for? That would be, he grins, one of the best he has ever tried – a Méthode Traditionnelle called Legacy.  Beyond that he’s a big fan of “the winemaker’s wine” – chardonnay.

Finding new and interesting wines, especially from New Zealand, is one of Tai’s favourite pastimes. He also enjoys reading – he listens to books when out in the vineyard, and is a runner with some half marathons planned for this year. And, he enjoys playing basketball with old school mates.

As for the Young Horticulturist Competition finals, he’s looking forward to the people he’ll meet, the wisdoms he’ll glean from other finalists and to learning more about the horticultural sector in general.

The Young Horticulturist of the Year 2024 Grand Final is being held over two days at the Karaka Bloodstock on 30 and 31 October. Tickets to the Grand Final Dinner & Awards are available until 16 October from younghort.co.nz