Jo about Rod
I met Rod while we were both working at Vidal Estate a fair few years ago - he as a cellar rat, me as a waitress in the winery restaurant. In those early days, I couldn't fathom that someone could love wine as much as he did. It just wasn't on my radar in the same way it was his. Visits to Scenic Cellar in Tāupo - low to no lighting, boxes stacked willy nilly, high and hazardous on the floor, hand written tasting notes - he'd be lost in that vinous rabbit warren for hours. Hours!
The love of the grape has stuck with him. He knows the wine industry inside and out, juggles its many facets and has a knack for stitching the right people and the right plan together. He's also very good at making wine and has become more and more thoughtful about the land on which it grows.
In an industry riddled with big pockets and even larger personalities, he's all head down + just keep on getting on with it.
These are my opinions and I'm sticking to them!
Rod about Jo
I once heard Jo describe herself as an acquired taste. I love that idea.
Who likes olives the first time you taste them? Or coffee? Or anchovies? Only to end up with them becoming the highlight of any day and a lifetime obsession.
Some of the many things I love about Jo are her intelligence, her caring nature and honesty, but there’s steel in her too.
Over the last few years, she has developed into a formidable [edit by Jo: slow and steady] ultra runner with a bunch of 60km, 100km and 100 milers under her belt. She loves to set out with a couple of big mountains between her and the finish line. I know Jo likes the running, but mostly I think she likes nutting out all the logistics and over time building up her own toughness to complete such mental challenges.
Why East Coast Trading? Why now? I think she’s just decided it’s time, there’s a challenge, there’s another way to tell the story of Hawke's Bay through wine. Jo for CEO!
Jo's legit bio.
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Come on now, are you sure you're old enough in the country where you're drinking? Ya look like a spring chicken!
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