Welcome
Wine Sentience is home to Wellington's only Master of Wine, specialising in hospitality training, wine education, wine lists and tutored tastings. We cover everything from NZ wine and fine wine, to natural wine, in private luxury wine experiences and occasional public masterclasses.
Our wine experiences
We offer a range of exceptional private tastings for small and large groups – find out more here.
Our Master of Wine
Wellington's own resident Master of Wine, Stephen fell in love with it while playing music at clubs and doing harvest while studying at Otago University. He took on sommelier and waitstaff roles in Wellington in the early 2000s, running the wine programmes at Café Bastille/Roxburgh Bistro, The Matterhorn (pre-2011), Citron, The Spire Queenstown, Singapore Marriott Hotel and Arbitrageur Wine Room while Wine Sentience was coming together.
With a focus on education and communication, he developed the first year wine syllabus for Le Cordon Bleu's Bachelor of Culinary Arts and Business degree, was a founding member of the NZ Sommelier and Wine Professionals Association, and occasionally judges wine shows in NZ, Australia and Asia. He works closely with wine festivals and NZ Winegrowers in education, presenting and speaking at the Sommit Scholarship, Pinot Noir Conference, The Aromatics Symposium, Aotearoa Chardonnay Symposium, Bragato Conference and at their events in Australia, Hong Kong and China. He is the current co-chair of the Institute’s Diversity, Inclusion and Transformation Committee and sat on the Education Committee in his previous roles.
As one of the organisers for Budburst, natural wine is a particular passion for him. A natural wine pioneer, Stephen instigated Ponsonby’s Golden Dawn Tavern becoming the first natural wine bar in the country back in 2010, followed by Ancestral and Whitebait Restaurant a few years later. This commitment is now carried on by Sherwood Queenstown. However, as a classically trained taster, fine wine is definitely part of his oeuvre. Stephen runs in-depth tastings and masterclasses on traditional fine wines; you'll see him presenting at vintage assessment tastings of Germany, Austria, New Zealand, Rhône, Burgundy and Bordeaux as well as deep-dives into the myriad natural wine styles.
In 2022, Stephen completed the exams for and was appointed as the New Zealand Ambassador for the VDP German Fine Wine Estates and is qualified to introduce, educate and raise awareness of the diverse wines of Germany’s top estates. You can also find his writing on wine in editorial columns for Cuisine, The World of Wine, and The Real Review.
Adventures from Instagram
Out and about, all around the world.