Hawke's Bay's Grape Debate: Winemakers face off at Te Awa Winery

Yalumba Wines' Jane Ferrari again starred in the Colliers International Wine Debate at Te Awa Winery. Photo / Supplied

A few industry warnings peppered an otherwise hilarious evening at the Colliers International Grape Debate.

Winemakers Ant Mackenzie, Kate Radburnd and Richard Painter squared off against Yalumba Wines' "storyteller" Jane Ferrari, John "Mac" Macpherson, of Advintage Wines, and celebrity chef Martin Bosley to debate this year's moot - "Is it the product or the pitch?"

Arguing for the "pitch", Ferrari, the star of last year's event, told another sold-out audience at Te Awa Winery on Saturday night that the moot was a serious one.

"It's highly topical at the moment at this time in the wine world," she said. "Never have we had a situation like now where the world is awash with great wine. It's never been a better buyers' market at any price point.

"Basically, if we [marketers] don't get it right on our side there's going to be a lot of great wine that sits in warehouses gathering dust. It's all about making it all a little bit more entertaining."

She claimed the industry had always been about the "pitch".

"The days of winemakers posing as rock stars and demi-gods is over. Want to know the difference between God and a winemaker? God doesn't want to be a winemaker."

Mackenzie hit back, claiming winemakers were "the artists, the hard workers, the risk takers and the dreamers. Everybody wants to be us. Wine is the fat of the land, we'd never call it a product, that's sales and marketing speech, just another thing sold by faceless marketers and influencers."

He labelled marketers as "fluffers", and said wine was too important to be "flogged as a product."

Macpherson thanked "God" for the opportunity to publically say what he thought of winemakers.

"For 20 years I've been in wine sales and watched winemaker after winemaker walk into my office like rock stars walking on stage. They proceed to tell me they've just made the most delicious thing I'm about to put in my mouth. For 20 years I've heard how they've magically transformed humble grapes into things of poetry - yes, I've had enough."

Winemaking was a "nauseating and pretentious" title. "You don't hear electricians calling themselves powermakers, or midwives calling themselves lifemakers."

Making wine wasn't difficult, he said, citing inmates making it their toilets' cisterns. "Some of that incarceration juice would taste a sh*tload better than what dumb, dumb and dumber produce.

"You have to ask yourself, how is it that wine which takes $15 to make gets sold for $70, $80 or even $120? That, my friends, is called sales and marketing."

The night's adjudicator, comedian Jeremy Corbett, said Macpherson's criticism of winemakers could see him "floating in a wine vat." "Nice knowing you Mac".

Radburnd then reminded the audience: "You can't put lipstick on a pig."

"Would you like a marketer making your wine? They live in a world where these lovely white unicorns gracefully fly over the moon sh*tting rainbows. How can they pitch without the product?"

After about 75 minutes of debate, judges announced Mackenzie's team the winner - not without some dissent from the crowd.

Rebecca Tacon, of Planit Events, said she was stoked with the evening.

"We were delighted with how it all went - all the speakers were amazing."

Tacon said while a final count was underway, the funds were expected to match last year's tally of about $30,000.

Proceeds go towards the Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter.