26/09/2026
As Organic Wine Week comes to a close, we’re revisiting the story of Anne Escalle, Director of Rimapere Estates, featured in the September issue of Winepress.
THE POINT of growing wine is to create pleasure, says Anne Escalle, a viticulturist as happy in market as she is in the vines. “To see the spark in the eyes of the people; that’s really where the magic happens.”
It’s one of the many ways the head of Edmond de Rothschild Heritage’s New Zealand operations spans dual wine worlds – from vineyard to market, science to field and Old World traditions to New World evolutions.
Her talent for bridging divides was recognised in July, when Anne was made a Knight of the French National Order of Agricultural Merit by French ambassador Laurence Beau. “Over the years Anne has combined the best of French tradition with the dynamism and innovation of New Zealand viticulture,” Laurence said at a Blenheim event, recognising Anne’s influence beyond Marlborough’s Rimapere and Central Otago’s Akarua vineyards, “all the way to France and Paris”.
Read more in the September issue of Winepress:
https://www.marlboroughwinenz.com/winepress/september-2026
Organic Wine Week | 21–27 September
