Sophie is a wine producer and wine industry consultant based in Marlborough. Raised in the New Zealand wine regions of Gisborne and Central Otago, winemaking and hospitality were endemic to Sophie’s upbringing.

While gaining a law degree and admission to the bar, she felt the inevitable pull back to the wine industry, moving to Marlborough for the 2011 harvest where she met her now-husband, Matt. Together they founded their premium wine venture, Blank Canvas, in 2013, crafting small-batch wines from exceptional single vineyard sites in Marlborough, Central Otago and the Gimblett Gravels®, Hawkes Bay.

Their consultancy business, Kiwi-Oeno, provides comprehensive wine industry consulting services spanning vine to bottle. Sophie ordinarily travels multiple times a year to Europe for work, including for vintage.

A zealous advocate of the quality and sub-regional diversity of New Zealand and particularly Marlborough wines, sitting on the board of Appellation Marlborough Wine. Sophie is also New Zealand consultant and contributor to the World Atlas of Wine (8th ed.) and the Oxford Companion to Wine (5th ed.).

Current employer: Blank Canvas Wines

Primary area(s) of work: Wine production, Trade, Strategy, Communication

Industry sector(s): Project management, Events, Winemaking, QA/QC, Marketing, Sales, Business owner, Off trade, On trade, Journalism, Educator, Consultant, Wine judge, International trade, Import/Export, Wine business strategy, Wine buying, Investments

Specialisms: Sustainability, Life cycle of the vine, Establishment of vineyards, Acquisition of vineyards, Harvesting of grapes, Commercial advice on vinyard establishment, Environmental impacts, Regenerative, Startup and profitability, Processing of grapes, Maturation and blending, Economics of wine production, Winery design and construction, Production costs, Whole cluster fermentation, Packing and labelling, Quality assurance and control, Legal compliance on authorised packaging and labelling, Sensory evaluation , Marketing wine, Financial and commercial structures, Supplier/customer relationships, Routes to market, Importation, Distribution, Independent retail, Events, Restaurant wines, Wine and health, Wine labels, Wine laws and regulations, Branding, Training, New business development, Brand protection, Intellectual property, Wine judging