Winemaker- Thornbury Wines: (Villa Maria Group) October 2006 to 2022Simon Fell is a Winemaker for Villa Maria Estate based at Head office in Auckland, New Zealand. With the responsibility and challenges that being a Villa Maria winemaker brings, in particular the opportunity to produce varietal wines from each of New Zealand’s key winegrowing regions. Simon thrives on being innovative in his winemaking and working closely with the viticulture team to ensure the wines express their unique terroir. He is also involved with been a key member of the on premise accounts Sales team focusing on Wine education and training.Prior to joining Villa Maria in 2006 Simon has being a career winemaker for the last 17 years, working in key winegrowing regions throughout the world such as Bordeaux, Napa Valley, Chile, Australia andmore recently Hawke’s Bay (2003-2006) where he was Winemaker for Vidal Wines a subsidiary Winery owned by Villa Maria’s Sir George Fistonich. During his career with Villa Maria he has been a key member of the winemaking team achieving numerous winemaking awards and accolades. For example New Zealand’s most awarded Winery and the first New Zealand Winery to implement the screw cap initiative.

Winemaker. Planned, supervised and coordinated the production of wine for a small premium winery. Responsibilities included but were not limited to: consult with viticulturalists and oversight of vineyard maintenance; harvest scheduling, crush and ferment; performance lab analysis; and blends preparation. Also assisted with direct sales and marketing, tastings and wine appreciation seminars. Specialized in producing Cabernet Sauvignon, Dolcetto, Sangiovese, Shiraz and Zinfandel.

Consultant Winemaker. Provided consultant services on behalf of this winemaking negotiant for a contract in Gers, France during the 2000 harvest. Primarily responsible in overseeing and coordinating contract winemaking for CellarWorld International UK clients. Involved in the selection and gathering of fruit quality and managing production to meet the specific guidelines by CellarWorld International.