I love hearing how people got hooked on wine, so much so that they wanted to make it a career and so Simon Nunns, the winemaker for Coopers Creek Wines here in northwest Auckland, New Zealand, comes under the spotlight.

Wine was not part of the picture when a young Simon Nunns headed off from rural Waikato to Massey University in Palmerston North to become a vet. Although very bright at school, and just four Bursary marks of direct entry into vet school, for some reason - perhaps the social life of University - suddenly study wasn't so important. After two years Simon decided he was an 'academic retard' and it was best to 'drop out'.

Information technology wasn't a bad career and Databank, one of the big computer bureaus at the time, a clearing house for its major trading bank owners with 14 networked sites around the country, employed Simon as a computer operator.

Moving away from the sports-mad, beer swilling student lifestyle of Massey University was a good thing for Simon's soon to be released vinous aspirations.

Actually his aspirations right then were more below the belt with the thought of his first "dirty weekend" away which just happened to be - at his girlfriend's suggestion - to the wine country of Hawkes Bay and Gisborne. To prepare for the weekend he made his first serious visit to a wine shop and he reckons it took him a couple of hours to choose a couple of bottles to do some training on - they were Henkell Trocken and Freixenet Cordon Negro.

During the weekend they visited Vidal Estate, Esk Valley Estate and Eskdale, then up the coast to Gisborne and the winery of Matawhero. It was May 1987 and the weekend marked a significant moment in Simon's life - he decided he was going to become a winemaker. He was just 20 years old.

But first wine needed to be demystified. Back in Palmerston North he joined the Cellarmasters Wine Club - and as he was just of legal drinking age (which was 20 years back then) he was easily the youngest member of the club. He made friends with a couple who were interested in wine. They gave Simon books to read.

The following year Simon was transferred to Wellington to take on the role of 'Operations Analyst', which is really a fancy title for a JCL writer, then he headed off to the other side of the world for the obligatory OE (overseas experience).

In London, jobs in I.T. weren't quite as easy to come by. Although the money was good, there were no contracts available. The Majestic Wine Warehouse came to the rescue and with the lure of the romantic title of 'Trainee Manager', Simon accepted the position which basically meant he carted many boxes of wine around. But there was plenty of opportunity for wine tasting - it couldn't be more perfect.

Returning to New Zealand in 1992, the thought of returning to work in the well-paid information technology sector somehow no longer seemed appealed. Money wasn't that important. Wine was the consuming passion now.

Simon based himself in Auckland. One of the wineries he called on during his 'in-person' search for vinous employment was Coopers Creek. "Come back next March, there'll be some work during vintage", said incumbent winemaker, Kim Crawford. Not to be deterred, Simon dropped by the cellar door, and hey presto, with a little sweet talking he'd scored his first job in the New Zealand wine industry.

Weekends in the wine shop led to some work in the home vineyards helping to control the late Spring flourish and then into the winery itself as 'junior cellar rat'.

Simon was starting to get to know the people in the local wine industry, and when the work at Coopers Creek ran out in the mid-1993, a job at Villa Maria was secured for the next vintage.

However to get anywhere these days you need qualifications, so Simon enrolled in the Post Graduate Diploma of Viticulture and Oenology at Lincoln University, just out of Christchurch. It is not surprising that the previously 'retarded' academic potential was unleashed. Straight A-plus grades with the highest marks secured him the title of 'Top of the Class' for the year of '95.

While at Lincoln he fulfilled his practical requirement at Pegasus Bay and on completion of the course returned to Villa Maria as Assistant Winemaker under Michelle Richardson.

In 1997 the circle was complete with a return to Coopers Creek as Assistant Winemaker. He took over as Chief Winemaker in October 1998 when Kim Crawford left to concentrate on his own company and consulting business.

Winemaking is a seasonal business and young, trained, New Zealand winemakers are sought overseas. It didn't take many letters for Simon to find employment in Oregon for the 1996 northern Hemisphere vintage. It was at the 115-acre Erath Vineyards, at Dundee, Oregon, where 2/3rds of the 35,000 case output is Pinot Noir. Although just a cellar hand, Simon had a fantastic time and made good contacts.

Last year, 2000, he worked at Chateau Mangot in the St Emillion appellation of Bordeaux. This was his first visit to Bordeaux and he likens it to working in a postcard setting with beaut people, great wine and fantastic food. It is no wonder that Merlot is his favourite variety to make at the moment, especially "if the fruit is right", adds Simon.

And there's other travel in relation to his job. He does promotional tastings for Coopers Creek throughout New Zealand and in Australia, although his boss, Andrew Hendry, travels further afield. And there is the occasional conference, he's just come back from a technical conference in Adelaide, held at the beginning of October. Simon's well versed in the technical stuff and words like 'furfural' and 'trimethyldihydroxynapthalene' slipped easily into the conversation.

Simon's been known to travel in pursuit of wine tastings too. And one of the challenging tests for a wine tasting, wine loving, winemaker is the challenge of the Liquorland Wine Options tasting competition. Last year, Simon travelled the country with other member of his 'Roots' team to contest the options in each region. And for each region they had a variation of their name. Although the 'roots' were delving deep, they only won one of the regional titles, where as 'Team Phylloxera - looking for a good root' they won the Auckland title.

Team Phylloxera in Auckland - Sue Davies, Nigel Wright, Simon Nunns and Raymond Chan.

Simon has no aspirations to go out on his own at the moment. He's happy to continue in employment, relax with a good German riesling, such as a J.J. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese, and read 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy. In fact he loves this book so much, he reads it every couple of years.

Last year's trip to France leaves Simon with some of his never-to-forget experiences - like a couple of days tasting at Bollinger and a tasting at Haut Brion. But Simon tells in his own words one of his most memorable.

"One of the most fantastic wine drinking experiences I have ever had occurred at the end of vintage 1996 in Oregon, USA. My partner Katrina and I had been invited to the home of one of the owners of the winery where Katrina had been working (Yamhill Valley Vineyards). Three of us were taken down to the wine cellar by our host and told to 'choose whatever wine you like'. As the host was saying this he was waving a bottle of 1953 Chateau Petrus under my nose! The cellar was well ordered, with one wall of red Burgundy, one of red Bordeaux, one of Californian Cabernet Sauvignon and the fourth being ports and dessert wines.

I was allocated the Burgundy and Bordeaux walls and promptly refused to choose anything for fear of removing something too precious. Our host chose for me, and selected a 1953 LeRoy Beaune, a 1961 Charmes-Chambertin (producer unknown) and a 1962 Chateau Margaux. Two 1974 Californian cabernets were chosen and Katrina walked out with a 1983 Chateau d'Yquem, a 1977 Warres and a 1963 Taylors!

As to the tasting of these wines: The 1953 LeRoy Beaune was great. It was light in colour, a very savoury and gentle wine.
The 1961 Charmes-Chambertin was sadly past its best but still enjoyable in a faded kind of way.
The 1962 Chateau Margaux was in great form. It is an overlooked vintage coming straight after the fantastic 1961 but this wine was everything an old red Bordeaux should be; savoury, cedary and complex.
The two 1974 Cabernets were most excellent; still surprisingly youthful and chunky with sweet, ripe fruit.
The 1983 Chateau d'Yquem was sensational; rich, weighty, textured and complex, as was the 1977 Warres.
What about the 1963 Taylors? Well, we were to sated to fit that one in. Our generous host however, stated that once a wine had come out of the cellar, it wasn't going back, and promptly gave it to Katrina to take away with her."