Winepress - September 2024

Building confidence

Spy Valley winemaker Emily GaspardClark chairs the team behind the Marlborough Young Winemaker of the Year competition

How did winning Young Winemaker of the Year set you up for leadership?

The first year I entered the Tonnellerie de Mercurey Young Winemaker of the Year competition I struggled with confidence in myself as a winemaker. After learning a lot that first time, I went away and worked on what I thought were my weaknesses. Coming back and winning it in 2019 helped me build that confidence. To be able to lead you need to have confidence in yourself and be able to accept that you might not be the expert in everything. The competition covers all aspects of winemaking, and I think it set me up to be able to start taking the lead in our team at Spy Valley. When you work in a team at a smaller winery you need to understand those different aspects of the business. It’s very important to me to be there for my team and be able to help wherever they need it. I want to be able to be open and honest with them so they can be open and honest with me in return.

What leadership challenges come with chairing a committee of volunteers?

It’s always a juggle being involved in a volunteer committee as everyone has their full-time jobs and other commitments to manage. Luckily our Marlborough Young Winemaker

committee are very dedicated to ensuring our young up-and-coming winemakers get the best experience to help them learn and grow. Within our committee we’ve found that everyone has different strengths. We realised that assigning tasks to committee members so they have ownership over a certain module in the competition has allowed them to show those strengths and gets the best out of everyone. It makes it a lot easier to chair a committee when everyone is enjoying the task they’ve been assigned. I’m very fortunate to have been able to work with such a wonderful group of knowledgeable and experienced winemakers and industry professionals.

What’s next on your leadership journey?

After five years on the committee, including three as chair, I’ve decided it’s time to step back and create space for someone else to develop their leadership skills. My next focus will be on expanding my leadership role as winemaker at Spy Valley.