KNOWLEDGE DAY
Social Terroir: Breaking New Ground
Wine tourism sits at the intersection of land, culture, community, and commerce. Social licence — the informal but powerful permission society gives an industry to operate — is shaped by public and regulatory expectations around health, environment, sustainability, labour, culture, and community wellbeing.
The theme for the Knowledge Day of this year’s Great Wine Capitals Annual Conference is Social Terroir: Breaking New Ground. This theme responds to growing global expectations around sustainability, cultural responsibility, authentic regional
storytelling and community resilience. By exploring how wine regions can actively earn and maintain social licence, the conference will position the sector to strengthen its reputation, remain competitive in international tourism markets, and ensure tourism growth enhances rather than diminishes the places people come to experience.
What You'll Take Away
The Knowledge Day equips delegates to:
- Recognise social licence as a strategic enabler of growth
- Strengthen cultural and community partnerships
- Create experiences that respect local culture, indigenous communities, heritage and landscape
- Protect regional provenance and authenticity in global markets
- Implement measurable sustainability practices across the land and within tourism businesses
- Diversify tourism offerings via models that support local economies while safeguarding destination reputation
Knowledge Day Programme
Join us to shape a wine tourism sector that earns its place in the landscape, in the community, and in the world.
8.30am Welcome from MC Anna Nielson and Mihi Whakatau
Opening Address from Dr John Barker
International Keynote Speaker Jamie Knee
9.35am Session 1 :Cultural partnership and storytelling
Karl Wixon
Jeff Sinnott
Panel Discussion facilitated by Tania Burt
Dr InHaeng Jung
10.45am Morning tea
11.15am Session 2: Sustainability strategy as a social contract
Jess Vandy
Meagan Littlejohn
Cam Hayes
Duncan Darroch
Panel Discussion facilitated by Toby Buck
12.45pm Lunch
1.45pm Session 3: Diversification for resilience
Marijke Dunselman
Professor Joanna Fountain
Dr Jessica Mei Peng
3.00pm Conference close and networking drinks
4.30pm Conference close
Our Expert Speakers
Jamie Knee
Jamie Knee is an award winning wine travel writer, global wine presenter, and founder of Petite Wine Traveler. A Contributing Writer for Decanter and Forbes Travel Guide Speaker, she works
at the intersection of wine, tourism, hospitality, and destination
storytelling, exploring how wine, food, culture, and sense of place can create deeper connections between travelers and the regions they visit. Through her signature Wine as a Passport platform, Jamie writes, speaks, hosts, and creates immersive wine experiences around the world. She is the creator, host, and co producer of Petite Wine Traveler Explores, a wine travel television series that takes viewers inside the world’s wine regions through the people, places, food, culture, and experiences that make each destination distinctive.
Jamie is a 2026 Wine Travel Awards winner and has been named one of the Top 50 Most Influential Women in Wine and Hospitality.
Marijke Dunselman
Marijke Dunselman is the founder of Agritourism New Zealand and a leading voice in agritourism, with more than 27 years’ experience helping farmers and tourism businesses diversify and grow. She established Agritourism NZ to strengthen rural communities through tourism, training, advocacy and innovation. An internationally recognised speaker and Chair of the Education Committee for the Global Agritourism Network, Marijke brings global insights and practical expertise. Her work was recognised with the 2023 NZ Tourism Ticker Person of the Year award and the 2025 World Agritourism Award for innovation in agritourism.
Duncan Darroch
Duncan Darroch is the founder of Electric Executive and Hawke’s Bay Experiences, pioneering sustainable luxury transport and wine tourism in Hawke’s Bay. A trained winemaker and former biology teacher, he combines hospitality expertise with a strong commitment to environmental responsibility. His all-electric business model delivers premium visitor experiences while helping corporate clients reduce emissions. In 2026, Duncan was recognised with a Great Wine Capitals Sustainable Wine Tourism Award for his innovative approach to sustainable tourism
Jessica Vandy
Jessica Vandy is a sustainability practitioner and impact consultant with nearly two decades of experience working across the visitor economy in the Asia Pacific region. As founder of The Tenth Letter Consulting, she partners with destinations and tourism stakeholders to translate sustainability ambition into meaningful, evidenced impact with a focus on regenerative practice and the long-term wellbeing of place and community. Drawing on experience across the public and private sector, Jessica brings both strategic and practitioner insight to her work. She is also a senior consultant for Barcelona-based agency Global Destination Sustainability Movement, supporting global tourism destinations on their sustainability journeys.
Meagan Littlejohn
Meagan Littlejohn hails from Canada with a Masters degree from the University of Ottawa focussed on behaviour change, and a background in research and project management. She first joined the Sustainable Winegrowing NZ (SWNZ) team based in Blenheim in May 2018 as the Systems Administrator and has been managing the daily operations of the SWNZ programme as Programme Manager since January 2020. The SWNZ programme began in 1995 and leads with way internationally with approximately 98% of all producing vineyard area in New Zealand SWNZ-certified. Meagan is passionate about advancing the sustainability efforts and credentials of the New Zealand wine industry.
Karl Wixon
Ngāi Tahu / Kāti Māmoe / Waitaha / Moriori / Ngāti Toa Rangatira
Karl Wixon is a Māori strategic advisor, cultural storyteller and place-brand specialist who has spent more than 35 years helping organisations, regions and Indigenous communities develop
authentic stories that strengthen identity, reputation and long-term value. A former President of the Designers Institute of New Zealand, founding member and recent Co-Chair of Ngā Aho, the Māori Design Society, and former Board Member of Hawke's Bay Tourism, Karl has led nationally significant work across tourism, export, government and iwi. He has played key roles in New Zealand Story since 2012, including cultural lead for the award-winning Ngā Mātāpono Country Values programme, recognised with the global 2024 City Nation Place Award for Place Brand of the Year, and the Māori Partnership Story, a finalist in the 2025 awards. His work includes development of the TUKU Māori Winemakers Collective, Te Matau-a-Māui regional story for Hawke’s Bay, Māori export storyteller programmes, Indigenous intellectual property frameworks, and emerging Māori sustainability initiatives. Karl's work focuses on helping organisations engage with culture in ways that are authentic, compelling, defensible and grounded in genuine relationships with
people and place
Cameron Hayes
Cam is a marketer with a passion for driving positive change. As
Marketing Manager Sustainability at Tourism New Zealand, he brings the Tiaki Promise to life in partnership with organisations across the tourism system. Cam sits on the board of Te Araroa National Trust, has an MBA from the University of Otago and a Bachelors in marketing and PR from the University of Waikato. Outside of mahi you can find him running or tramping the
trails of Aotearoa.
Joanna Fountain
Associate Professor Joanna Fountain is a rural social scientist based at Lincoln University, Christchurch. She has more than three decades of research experience, broadly focused on the analysis of change and resilience in tourism systems, primary industries, and communities located in rural regions. Current research
interests include the role of agritourism, including food and wine tourism, as a tool for regional regeneration; enhancing destination and tourist resilience in the face of natural hazard risks and intensifying climate variability; and exploration of the changing shape of the wine industry in the context of climate change and
shifting consumer demand. Jo has been involved in cross-cultural and international research collaboration with colleagues in settings including China/Hong Kong, Australia, Canada and France.
Jeff Sinnott
Jeff Sinnott (Ngāti Tūwharetoa - Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa)
B.App. Sc. (Wine Science) Adelaide.
Jeff realised that he was never going to cut it as a jazz drummer so in 1985 he entered the wine industry. Firstly as a sommellier in
restaurants in New Zealand & Australia, to developing a wine trade business in Melbourne then studying & graduating with distinction from Adelaide University’s Wine Science program in 1993.
He has worked and made wine in most major wine regions in New Zealand as well as having experience in Australia, California & France. He has enjoyed roles in education & research (EIT Tairāwhiti), winemaking & viticulture (Isabel Estate,
Amisfield and Constellation) while pioneering Ostler vineyard in the Waitaki Valley, North Otago. He has consulted to wine businesses large and small in wine production, sales, marketing &
governance since the late 1990’s. He also works in advocacy, sitting on the Environment Committe of New Zealand
Winegrowers for the past 8 years and was on the Technical & Governance boards of Project Raumatatiki, Freshwater Farm Planning for Viticulture. He is current president of the New Zealand
Society for Viticulture & Oenology, the industry professional body and a proud founding member of the Tuku Māori Winemakers Collective.
John Barker
John Barker is the Director General of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV). The OIV is the global scientific and technical reference body for the vine and wine sector, bringing governments and exports from 51 vine and wine countries to develop international standards and guidelines, to
promote research and to share data and information. A New Zealander, Dr Barker was elected in 2023 becoming the first OIV Director General from the Southern Hemisphere. He has more than 30 years’ experience in the international vine and wine sector, including as General Counsel for New Zealand Winegrowers and as a lawyer and consultant advising governments, industry bodies and producers in many countries.
Chia Chia Koay
Ms Chia Chia Koay, from the Department of Management at the
University of Verona, will lead a project exploring the impact of wine
tourism awards on visitor experience and winery reputation. The research, conducted via market surveys in France, Italy, and the UK, will assess wine tourists’ preferences and willingness to pay for various award types and experiential activities, with a focus on wineries in Bordeaux and Verona.
“I am grateful to the GWC Global Network for awarding me
the GWC International Research Grant to pursue research on how people value wine tourism awards,” said Ms Koay.
The project is designed to help wineries better understand the strategic value of awards, guide more effective tourism experiences, and support destination marketing collaboration among regional stakeholders.
Dr InHaeng Jung
Dr InHaeng Jung of the Wine Business Institute at Sonoma State University will lead a cross-national study on cultural intelligence and consumer segmentation in wine tourism, focusing on emerging markets in China, South Korea, and India. Drawing on Consumer Culture
Theory, the research will investigate how cultural and psychographic factors influence expectations around authenticity, sustainability, personalisation, and symbolic consumption.
“I’m thrilled to receive the 2025/2026 Great Wine Capitals International Research Grant,” said Dr Jung. “Wine tourism is no longer a one-size-fits-all experience, and this project will highlight how culture shapes what people value in the glass and beyond. I’m excited for this
opportunity to help wineries and wine regions design experiences that feel meaningful, relevant, and exciting for diverse global audiences.”
By moving beyond traditional demographic segmentation, the
study will offer culturally informed strategies that wineries and tourism
boards can apply to more effectively connect with international visitors.
Dr Jessica Mei Pung
Dr Jessica Mei Pung, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at UniSA Business, University of South Australia. Her project, titled The Potential of Agritourism for Extending Wine Tourism Experiences, explores how
agritourism can be used to diversify and extend the offerings of wine
businesses. She is focusing on case studies in Adelaide, South Australia, and Verona, Italy.
She will analyse how wine tourism operators incorporate
agritourism approaches into their product offerings. Through interviews and on-site observations, her research aims to uncover best practices and success factors that can enhance the visitor experience. Ultimately, her project will develop a typology of agritourism-enhanced wine tourism experiences that can be adapted for other markets and regions.
Great Wine Capitals Hawke's Bay is supported by
