An international student studying viticulture in Hawke’s Bay says he hopes to use his winemaking skills in China in the future.
“In China, wine is not really a big part of the culture, but it is a good potential market because there are so many people there,” Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT) student Kevin Wang, 20, told Hawkes Bay Today.
“I thought that because I am bilingual it would be to my advantage to study wine here and then bring it back to China one day.”
Wang moved to New Zealand from Beijing at the age of 15 to complete his education, first in Auckland and then in Hawke’s Bay.
After finishing high school, he enrolled in the Bachelor of Viticulture and Wine Science course at EIT in 2020 – inspired by a trip to a winery with his father.
“We wanted to explore the region and ended up at Church Road Winery [in Napier] which I found really interesting.
Wang, who is in the final year of his degree, is working part-time at a local winery and also recently featured in a marketing campaign by Education New Zealand.
After his graduation, he hopes to gain more experience in the wine industry by working in France and Italy.
