For the discerning oenophile, the name Concha y Toro is often spoken in revered tones. They’ve been a proud fixture at the SAQ, a tribute not just to the wine’s
Parker-Thomson is the South Island’s first Master of Wine, with the other 14 in New Zealand in the North Island. Last Friday, Parker-Thomson was nervously walking up and down the hallway at home when she received a call from the London-based Institute of Masters of Wine. “It was 8.15pm,” Parker-Thomson said. “It was great to get the good news. I was overjoyed. It was a relief . It has been such a long hard pathway to get there.” In 2014, Parker-Thomson completed the two-year Wines and Spirits Education Trust Diploma. After this, she started the Master in Wine programme in 2016, “I started the Master of Wine in 2016, but I took a year off in 2017 because it was intense, I had a 2-year-old at the time, we were renovating the house . so I needed a break.”