Villa Maria Releases Feature-Length Documentary Capturing the Rigors of the Harvest in New Zealand

Auckland, New Zealand

World-renowned winery Villa Maria has teamed up with American filmmaker Colin West of WINERAM Productions to release Vintage, a feature-length documentary that tells a uniquely Kiwi story, capturing the incredible highs and heart-breaking lows of making world-class wine in New Zealand.

Vintage follows Villa Maria’s Chief Winemaker Nick Picone along with his team including Stu Dudley (Marlborough Viticulturist), Ollie Powrie (Chief Viticulturist) and Jess Marston, a harvest intern who is experiencing her first ever vintage. Told through their own unique lenses, the film captures the unforeseen challenges, vastly varying climates, frost-filled mornings and the 24-hour-days of the 12-week harvest in 2019. Set against the dramatic backdrop of the wind-swept coastal vineyards of Marlborough and the sun-soaked landscape of Hawkes Bay, Vintage showcases what it takes and the many hands that help bring our favorite wines from vine to table.

“For the first time ever in New Zealand, a winery is capturing the entire vintage process, giving audiences a peek behind the curtain of the all-consuming harvest. You’ll see the passion and hard work that goes into every bottle,” says Villa Maria Chief Winemaker Nick Picone.

Also making appearances in the 68-minute film are well-known experts from the wine world, including Christina Pickard (Contributing Editor for Wine Enthusiast), Oz Clarke (Officer of the Order of the British Empire and prolific wine writer and speaker), and Brian McClintic (Master Sommelier and star of Somm, Somm: Into the Bottle, and SOMM 3), who offer their own insights and experiences in wine along the way.

Vintage by Villa Maria premiered in New Zealand on Feb. 13 and will be screened in 12 markets worldwide with special events taking place in London, Dublin, New York, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Berlin, Amsterdam, Moscow, and Stockholm.

The film will be available in the U.S. and U.K. via Amazon Prime beginning Thursday, Feb. 27. It will also be available globally beginning Feb. 27 on iTunes, Google Play, SommTV, and Vimeo On Demand. Passengers on Air New Zealand will also be able to watch the film via the airline’s in-flight entertainment system.

To learn more, visit www.VintageByVillaMaria.com and www.VillaMariaWines.com. #VintageByVillaMaria

ABOUT VILLA MARIA: The Villa Maria story is one of absolute passion. Each wine is crafted in the unique, fruit-driven style of New Zealand, showcasing the very best of the country’s distinct wine regions. Villa Maria sources grapes from New Zealand’s premium grape growing regions, including Marlborough and Hawkes Bay, and produces wines in state-of-the-art winemaking facilities in Auckland, Hawkes Bay, and Marlborough. The winery Sir George Fistonich started in 1961 is still family owned and stands as an icon of superior quality and innovation in New Zealand winemaking. In 2019, Drinks International named Villa Maria the most admired wine brand in New Zealand and the third most admired in the world. To learn more, visit www.villamariawines.com.

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For further information:
Christina Starr
christina.starr@smwe.com