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"The Trinity".
Winemaker Warren Gibson, Viticulturist Michael Bell, John Hancock. |
Whilst recognizing the paramount importance of the contribution that the vineyard makes to the production of fine wine, the best possible winemaking team is the logical collateral. A talented and experienced team, supplemented by overseas “guests” on a regular basis, has become Trinity Hill’s tradition. The emphasis is on “team” and the winemaking and grape-growing staff members are merged as the “winegrowing” team. We work together closely, determining the appropriate actions to make wines of which we can all be proud. A complete understanding of the interaction between the vineyard and the winery is essential for us to achieve our full potential. We have superb vineyard sites and the appropriate staff to deliver some of the world’s great wines.
Chief winemaker and managing director is John Hancock whose symbiotic relationship with Warren Gibson, making wine together for 20 years, has produced a great partnership for Trinity Hill.
From this formidable team have come successes in creating wonderful wines from the outstanding sites of the Gimblett Gravels and hinterlands have won wide critical acclaim.
The excitement we create amongst ourselves and the ongoing challenge to produce wines of the international standing to which we aspire, is the catalyst for each year’s advance in quality. “Standing still is going backwards”! It is a continual challenge to our own standards which see us advance wine styles each year.
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| Chief winemaker and managing director John Hancock has 35 years of experience in New Zealand, Australia and France, graduating from Roseworthy College in South Australia in 1973. As founding winemaker for Morton Estate, John produced many award-winning wines, including the best Chardonnay in the World at the 1997 Wine Magazine’s International Wine Challenge. His desire to continue this led him and his business partners to Hawke’s Bay to set up Trinity Hill and produce world-class wines.
John has a long history as a wine judge, both in New Zealand and overseas. His experience working with top wine houses in the Rhone Valley and Burgundy, those bastions of great French wine tradition, has been a touchstone of wine styles to come from Trinity Hill: a profound respect for the old, layered with the new. Known as an innovative company, Trinity Hill leads the way with unusual varieties in New Zealand as well as top-flight, consistent wines from those more traditional varieties.
It is John’s no-nonsense and generous approach to wine and its imbibers which has won him much popularity and respect.
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John Hancock
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With John Hancock as Chief Winemaker at Trinity Hill came Warren Gibson.
He had worked with John at Morton Estate in the Bay of Plenty from 1986. Between them, these two outstanding winemakers have completed over 65 vintages, in 17 different regions and 7 different countries!! Warren has completed over 25 harvests at wineries in South and Western Australia, New Zealand, California, Italy, France and Hungary. A Chardonnay he made in Italy in1996 was awarded White wine of the Year at the 1997 Wine International Challenge.
He is an outstanding winemaker, a graduate of Roseworthy College of Advanced Education in Australia.
Warren is also a national wine judge and has completed the coveted Advanced Sensory Evaluation Program at The Australian Wine Research Institute in South Australia.
But there is no doubt that the well-deserved title of New Zealand Winemaker of the Year, bestowed on Warren on behalf of Trinity Hill by Winestate Magazine in 2005, and Champion Winemaker Award at the Hawke's Bay Wine Awards in 2006, recognises the extraordinary talents of this unassuming and modest all-round-nice-guy.
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Warren Gibson
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Joining Warren as Assistant Winemaker this year is Damian Fischer. Originally from Adelaide, after a high-flying stint in PR and marketing for large South Australian wine companies, Damian changed direction, studying wine science and viticulture. He has worked vintages in Western Australia and Hawkes Bay.
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Returning to Trinity Hill for another stint is Hew Kinch from New South Wales.
Hew is a Charles Sturt graduate and has worked in Australian wine regions (Margaret River, Coonawarra, Hunter Valley), California and the south of France.
Two other staff members are with us again for Vintage 2008:
Richard Vuletich and Rangi MacLeod, with part-time Cellar Door Salesperson Desire Janson doing analysis work during vintage as part of her winemaking degree requirements.
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