Bachelor of Viticulture and Oenology

Marketing Executive, New Zealand Winegrowers

A passion for promoting New Zealand wines to the world led Frances Durcan to study Viticulture and Oenology at Lincoln in 2002, and five years later she found herself doing exactly that as a marketing executive for New Zealand Winegrowers.

Frances says her current role is a perfect fit in terms of her enthusiasm for locally grown vintages and the breadth of skills she picked up in the course of her Lincoln degree.

"The Bachelor of Viticulture and Oenology at Lincoln is a broad degree that doesn't just focus on the art of wine growing and wine making. The management and marketing papers were an important part of the degree for me, and helped to give me a real understanding of all areas of the industry."

In her role at New Zealand Winegrowers, Frances works with NZ wineries and a team of three staff in London, delivering events and promotions around Europe. Her job also includes aiding wineries who are looking for distribution in Europe, working with industry trade and media visiting New Zealand and organising tastings and events around the country, such as The New Zealand Wine Exporters’ Forum.

After graduating in 2005, Frances was employed at Villa Maria as a winemaking cadet, where she got a strong grounding in the hands on work, turning the theory into practice.

"Even though I am now working in the marketing side of the business, my degree and the Villa Maria experience is always valuable in my day to day work because it informs the marketing aspect when dealing with both growers and the trade."

Frances feels the degree provides a great basis for almost any role within the industry, even though some of the skills may not be used for some time – perhaps in setting up your own vineyard after getting years of industry experience, for example.

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