5 November 1996 Wine education award honours memory of slain New Zealander

Kiwi winemaker Jason Winter, killed in Tasmania's Port Arthur massacre in April this year, will be remembered on Thursday (7.11.96) with the first award of an annual memorial prize established in his name.

The inaugural winner of the Jason Winter Memorial Prize, tenable as a registration for Lincoln University's annual Spring School in Grapes and Wine, is Simon Nunns of Auckland, Assistant Winemaker with Villa Maria and holder of a postgraduate Diploma in Viticulture and Oenology from Lincoln.

The award, to be made annually, is for the class member with the highest aggregate mark in two of the core papers of Lincoln University's Postgraduate Diploma in Viticulture and Oenology.

Funding the award is the Jason Winter Trust, established on the initiative of students from Christchurch Polytechnic's School of Broadcasting who set up a limited licence 24-hour "Beatles FM" radio station and used it as a fundraising vehicle.

A celebrity auction drew support from television personality Paul Holmes, rugby star Jonah Lomu and NZ cricket captain Lee Germon.

Major South Island vineyards also made a big contribution, helping the broadcasting students to surpass their goal of $4000.

"An award linked to Lincoln University's Spring School in Grapes and Wine is a fitting tribute to a young New Zealander who had a promising career ahead of him in the wine industry," said the convenor of Lincoln University's Scholarships Committee, Dr Jacqueline Rowarth.

Dr Rowarth praised the initiative and "inter-institution spirit" of the Broadcasting School students who organised the memorial prize fund.

The award will be made at the opening session of the 1996 Symposium of the New Zealand Society of Viticulture and Oenology (held in conjunction with the Air New Zealand Wine Awards) in conference facilities at Auckland's Harrah's Casino.

Presenting the prize, with Jason's parents Barry and Judi Winter in attendance, will be Lincoln University Senior Wine Science Tutor Graeme Steans.

Ian Collins, Journalist, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand.