
Rhys Pender MW
Became an MW 2010
Based in Canada
Languages English
Rhys is a Master of Wine who combines his time writing, judging, teaching, consulting and dirtying his boots at his 4-acre vineyard and winery - Little Farm Winery (littlefarmwinery.ca) - in the Similkameen Valley of BC, Canada. His wine school, Wine Plus+, has been teaching Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) to budding wine pros since 2008. To make sure he eats well he has also completed a Professional Culinary Diploma and has been named by Western Living magazine as one of the ?Top 40 Foodies Under 40? in Western Canada. He is a Principal Critic and Writer for WineAlign.com and a regular contributor to Canadian publications such as Macleans, Montecristo and Taste. Rhys judges wine competitions internationally such as the Decanter World Wine Awards, TexSomm as well as for WineAlign and the Vancouver Magazine Wine Awards in Canada.
Primary area(s) of work: Wine production, Communication
Industry sector(s): Author, Business owner, Buying, Consultant, Educator, Journalism, Marketing, Project management, Viticulture, Winemaking, Wine judge
Wine styles: Orange wines, Natural, Still red, Still rosé, Still white, Still wines
Wine region expertise: Canada
Market expertise: Australia, Canada, South America, Spain
Specialisms: Acquisition of vineyards, Clones, Commercial advice on vinyard establishment, Cultivation of the vine, Establishment of vineyards, Factors affecting grape growing, Life cycle of the vine, Organic viticulture, Vine propagation, Wine varieties, Economics of wine production, Fermentation, Maturation and blending, Processing of grapes, Blending, Elevage / maturation, Preparation of finished wine for bottling, Packing and labelling, Branding, Food and wine pairing, Identifying and meeting consumer demand, Marketing wine, Restaurant wines, Routes to market, Supplier/customer relationships, Wine labels, Wine tourism, Wine judging