Carol Bunn our wine maker since 2006.
Annika and Linn inspecting Pinot Noir ferment at Vinpro with Guy assistant winemaker to Carol Bunn.
Carol was just a young child when Central Otago wine pioneer Alan Brady first planted grapes at Gibbston near her parent's farm at Arrowtown which sparked an interest in viticulture.
Carol completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in geography and worked in resource management planning before a career change in 1995 to viticulture and oenology with a Post Graduate Diploma in at Lincoln University.
She has worked in Martinborough for 18 months getting her first taste of winemaking at Dry River and then moving on to Martinborough Vineyard where she worked in viticulture, canopy management and also at the cellar door. Her time spent there working with Nick Hoskins and Larry McKenna fuelled an abiding interest in pinot noir.
Her overseas experience followed: working first at Amity Vineyard in Oregon "...it was lots of fun...we were living in caravans amongst the trees."
Carol moved back to New Zealand and became winemaker at Langdale Estate in Canterbury for 3 vintages - a 10 acre block with production of 45 tonnes, a good opportunity for her first sole winemaker position.
Carol then went back for another stint in Oregon - this time working for Adea, a small family-owned winery.
2001 found her back in Central Otago working at Black Ridge. Just two days before she was due to fly out to Australia for another job, she was offered a job by Akarua Winery. Carol worked there for four vintages, producing consistently great results and culminating in her being dubbed by workmates last year as "Queen of the Pinot" - after Akarua Pinot Noir 2002 and Akarua "The Gullies" Pinot Noir 2002 were ranked No.1 and No.2 wines in Cuisine magazine - this following on by the "big brother" winning Champion Pinot Noir and Champion Wine of the Show at the Air New Zealand Wine Awards in 2004.
With wine accolades and superior wines as her testimony, Carol was head-hunted by Vinpro to set up and take the reins of the new winery division.
Carol’s philosophy at Vinpro is "to work in closely with the
clients and their unique terroir to produce for each the best wine we can
in the year we're given."
Paul and Angela state "that Carol and her fine team have ensured the
hard work in the vineyard is harmonised with fine winemaking."
Paul's initial interest in winemaking was based on the the support provided by University of California Davis and their free publication titled
Home Winemaking
Authors: George M. Cooke, Extension Enologist Emeritus and James T. Lapsley,
Continuing Education Specialist, Electronic version: Christian E. Butzke,
Cooperative Extension Enologist Department of Viticulture & Enology,
UC Davis.
Follow this link to download their publication.
University of California Davis Winemaking Publication
For a more technical dicsssion on Pinot Noir wine making please refer to