A Passion for Wine
The desire to learn English was the motivation for Yolanda to leave her homeland of China and travel to the bottom of the world.
Clearly with an appetite for learning, Yolanda enrolled at Lincoln University in Christchurch to obtain a degree in Viticulture & Oenology. She later teamed up with a business partner and together they began exporting New Zealand wine to China. As she says, “I felt it was important for me to have knowledge of the winemaking process to be able to talk confidently with our Chinese customers.”
After graduation, Yolanda headed to Central Otago where she did two vintages and subsequently went on to work as a Cellar Door Host at Gibbston Valley Winery until Covid popped up. At this point, Yolanda had definitely developed a thirst for the wine industry. Her next vintage experience was at Craggy Range Wines in Napier, a town she enjoyed very much. In September 2021, she joined the team at Indevin Winery in Marlborough where she completed the 2022 vintage and has carried on working in their on-site laboratory.
Working part-time at the Rock Ferry Cellar Door since November 2021, Yolanda gets to use her extensive wine knowledge and we certainly love having her on the team. When asked what she likes to do in her ‘down time’ the answer was baking and tasting wine! Studying to become a Sommelier is possibly on the horizon as well. Clearly Yolanda’s passion for learning and wine will certainly continue.