Working in London for wine specialists, Finnish-born Dominic Hall is among the international students who gained qualifications at EIT Hawke”s Bay last year.

While the Bachelor of Viticulture graduand isn”t able to join his former classmates, he will be thinking of those having their degrees or diplomas conferred at EIT”s graduation ceremony on March 27.

Dom”s decision to study at EIT was determined by family circumstances and by the quality of tertiary education offered by the Hawke”s Bay institute.

His German mother and English father moved to England when he was three, and when, 12 years later they came to New Zealand on a six-month “job swap”, Dom had his fifth form at Hamilton”s Hillcrest High School.

Two years later the family decided to relocate to New Zealand permanently. 

The interest in wine was triggered by jobs working in restaurants – Dom was fascinated by the excitement and enjoyment generated by food and wine.  After an 18 month stint working for a wine store in Canada, he rated wine-related degree studies a very attractive option.

Checking out study programmes offered at leading educational centres around the world – the University of Bordeaux, University of California Davis and Roseworthy in Australia – he chose EIT for a number of reasons. 

“I love the diversity of the region, I had already lived in New Zealand and enjoyed my time there, I would be closer to my family and the course had a good reputation.”

Launching into his degree programme, Dom was impressed by the quality of EIT”s lecturers and the resources made available to students.  He worked hard, and his efforts were acknowledged in the Young Viticulturist Award, which saw Sacred Hill covering his final year fees and providing him with part-time work.

“I owe this company a huge debt of gratitude,” he says.  “I spent most of my time with Sacred Hill in the vineyard and learnt a lot about the day-to-day reality of growing grapes.

“I value this experience very highly.  I think working for Sacred Hill completed my education in viticulture.”

Dom also loves his new job, working for Boutinot Wines as an on-trade accounts manager supplying wine to restaurants, bars and hotels.

“The great thing about this company is that we also produce a lot of wine.  About 60 percent of what we sell is own production. 

“The company has vineyards and wineries around France, Italy, Spain and South Africa, and works very closely with producers in all the classic wine regions of the world.  Our latest New Zealand agency is Fromm wines in Marlborough.”

The five-year plan is to get established in the London trade.

“This is not something that happens overnight,” he says, “and I”m aware that I will have to work extremely hard for the foreseeable future to make this happen.”

Living in one of the world”s greatest cities also offers great leisure-time opportunities.

“The sheer number of people here means that you can do anything at any time…I”m seeing a side of London that is very exciting and I feel very privileged to see it.”

Although Dom feels there are easier ways to make a living than working in the wine industry, he says that “so far for me, this is the most rewarding”.