"Wine is very dynamic and personal.  It's not my aim to stamp a regime on the grapes as they come into the winery, but to try to understand the grapes and let them express themselves with a helping hand.The challenge is to understand what that self-expression should be."

A native of New Zealand, Two Paddocks' winemaker Dean Shaw has traveled the world learning the art and science of winemaking. He started his education in New Zealand; completing his formal studies with a post graduate degree in Viticulture and Wine Science from Lincoln University in Canterbury, New Zealand in 1993.

In 1994 Dean took a job at Rippon Vineyard in Central Otago working with winemaker and viticulturist Clotilde Chauvet. Dean recalls, "Clotilde is from Champagne, France. I found her to be a great person to talk to and learn from."

After two years at Rippon, Dean traveled to France to Comte Armand's Bourgogne vineyard, Clos des Epeneaux, Pommard. Here he worked with master vintner Pascal Marchand and studied the Burgundian style of winemaking. "It's great to learn about wine with the Burgundians. Their methods challenge the winemaker to express the best qualities of the grapes that result from the individual terroirs of the vineyards."

Dean continued his international work with a season in Austria at Hirsch, Kammern-Reisling and he produced a 1999 vintage Pinot Noir at Bouchard Finlayson, Hermanus, South Africa. He also spent a year at Geisen Wine Estate in Canterbury, New Zealand working with winemaker Rudi Bauer. "I learned a lot from Rudi and we still have many meaningful conversation about winemaking and Pinot Noir."

But it's Central Otago that he loves. "The youth of the wine industry down here challenges us to try to develop quickly, thoughtfully and positively. The region is awe-inspiring and the people involved are inspiring as well."

Why winemaking? As Dean says, "It wasn't a single moment, but a culmination of ideas and desires which crystallized over a three-litre cask of wine and a bottle of nasty port in Dunedin. I knew I could do better than this."