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Stuart Smith - NZ Wine Personality of 2007
15 January 2008

Fairhall Downs Estate co-director Stuart Smith has been recognized by the New Zealand Wine Grower Magazine as New Zealand Wine Personality of the Year. New Zealand Wine Grower Magazine is the official journal of the NZ wine industry.

The award is recognition by the industry for the most outstanding contribution over the past year.

"It is a great honour for which I am humbled. This industry has so many people who I admire for their achievements and personalities and they have laid the foundations we have all built on," Stuart says.

The magazine said that looking back over the year from a nationwide perspective Stuart deserved recognition for his efforts on the industry's behalf.

About Fairhall Downs Estate

Ken and Jill Small started growing grapes under contract in 1982 on the Marlborough property they had then recently purchased. In 1994, they formed a partnership with daughter Julie and her husband Stuart Smith who, like Ken, came from an agricultural background, farming with sheep and deer in Canterbury.

Together, Ken and Stuart worked side by side at Fairhall Downs. Vineyard tips and techniques were passed on, hopes and ambitions shared and soon a winemaker was being hired. In 1996, the first wines were produced in bottles wearing the Fairhall Downs Estate label.

The family now prides itself on producing consecutive vintages of premium, single vineyard wines. They are sold widely throughout New Zealand, while recognition overseas makes the export market an important part of the business.