Writer and editor of the monthly subscription wine newsletter Te Whenua, John Saker, has called for the creation of a National Wine Museum.
In an opinion piece appearing in the January issue of Te Whenua, Saker writes: “New Zealand’s wine history is a cellar in which we’ve only really started having a serious poke around.”
He laments the “piecemeal and uncoordinated” approach that has thus far been shown towards collating and preserving New Zealand’s vinous history, saying: “It’s time to do something about this.”
As a first step, Saker suggests that wine industry body New Zealand Winegrowers should employ an archivist.
“Someone whose job it is to gather together every picture and printed word (and whatever else) that pertains to the nation’s wine history from 1840 (the probable year of our first vintage) to the present,” he says.
From there, planning should begin for the establishment of a National Wine Museum.
Saker says such an institution would become a magnet for tourists – wine tourism already being a significant market segment – and a source of pride for the industry and indeed, all Kiwis.
“It would be the right thing to do. Our past deserves no less,” he says.
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