This year’s Italian Bragato Exchange Scholar, Nicola Manzan, will be touring New Zealand’s wine regions and attending the Bragato Conference in August.
From Oderzo, a small town in the province of Treviso and about 50kms from Venice, Nicola started studying at the oenology school in Conegliano in 2006 – the year the school celebrated the 130th anniversary of its founding.
He says he’s thrilled to have been chosen for the scholarship, established in 2003 and co-sponsored by EIT and the Rotary Club of Taradale to foster an ongoing link between the Scuola di Viticoltura di Conegliano – where the father of New Zealand viticulture Romeo Bragato studied – and EIT.
Excited and also a bit nervous thinking about what awaits him in New Zealand, Nicola believes his month-long experience will be the best way of getting to know New Zealand’s people, lifestyle, culture and more specifically its viticulture.
It was holidaying in Tuscany in 2006 that triggered his passion for oenology and viticulture. Nicola was most impressed by the quality of winegrowing and winemaking techniques he saw, particularly in the Chianti Classico area.
While his father Eugenio works in a local furniture factory, his mother Patrizia was born in Australia to Italian parents. Living in Australia for 17 years before returning to Italy, she speaks English very well.
Nicola says the Bragato scholarship is an opportunity for improving his own English and extending his horizons.
“And why not – I may decide to move to this country to live and work at some time in the future!”
Visit here to find out more about wine and viticulture at EIT.