NZPPI board member Nick Hoskins of Riversun has been honoured as a 2024 New Zealand Winegrowers Fellow for services to research.

This prestigious recognition is awarded by New Zealand Winegrowers to individuals who have made significant contributions to the New Zealand wine industry.

Nick's citation from NZ Wine Growers states:

"Nick’s love for the outdoors originally landed him an apprenticeship with the Wellington Parks department at age 17. Fortunately for New Zealand’s wine industry, that preceded a segue into research where he has since heavily influenced the Wairarapa wine industry, Pinot Noir clones, and grapevine health and genetics.
 
He was a driving influence for change, eventually becoming Chair of the Grapevine Improvement Group, a certification scheme aimed at helping to protect the wine industry by ensuring vines were true to type and virus-free. His aptitude and passion for research and translating this into tangible outcomes for industry led him to become an expert in this field.
 
Nick took over NZW’s Virus Elimination Project in 2009, a position that changed the course of his career, leading him to manage NZW’s Vineyard Ecosystems project where he oversaw research by Plant & Food Research, Auckland University, and Linnaeus Laboratory. Since the conclusion of that project Nick has supported Riversun Nursery with research and development and helped to establish agritech startup BioScout. He is recognised as a Fellow for services to research and continues to serve the industry by leading cutting-edge technology into the field." 

NZPPI congratulates Nick Hoskins on this well-deserved honour and look forward to seeing his continued leadership in both the wine and plant production sectors.