Horrific accident kills winemaker

Marty Sharpe
Hawke's Bay lost one of its most promising winemakers with the death of Douglas Wiser in a freak accident while kitesurfing on the weekend.
Mr Wiser, 31, from New York state, was killed at about 2pm on Saturday, when strong winds dragged his kitesurfer across Te Awanga beach and slammed him into a caravan at the Te Awanga Holiday Park.
He was on his own and about to undo his harness when a strong northwesterly gust caught his kite.
According to witnesses, Mr Wiser was dragged about 100m from the sea, across a gravel beach, then smashed through the limb of a tree before hitting the vacant caravan. A man staying at the campground, who did not wish to be named, said he heard the crash into the tree, then something slam into the caravan.
"I ran over. He was going in and out of consciousness. I just held him and looked after his head and tried to stop the bleeding," the man said.
He was assisted by another camper and a friend of Mr Wiser's.
"There's not much we could do other than just keep him alive as long as possible," he said.
Two boys who saw the accident, Ben Libby and Matthew Mansfield, said they had been talking to Mr Wiser on the beach on Friday.
"He was a great guy, a really friendly guy. He was playing around with us just yesterday," said Ben, who had known Mr Wiser for more than a year.
The incident was the first kitesurfing fatality in New Zealand.
Mr Wiser, an experienced kitesurfer, may not have had time to use a safety button that releases the kite in critical situations.
Craggy Range Wines managing director Steve Smith said Mr Wiser was a talented winemaker who came to New Zealand about four years ago.
"The world is a poorer place without him. He was an unbelievable young man," Mr Smith said.
Hawke's Bay wine writer Peter Saunders, who had known Mr Wiser for about four years, described him as an "exceptionally talented winemaker" to whom Craggy Range owed much of its success.
Before moving to Craggy Range, Mr Wiser had spent two years at Dry River in Martinborough, where he had impressed with his work on Pinot Noir, Mr Saunders said.
"He was not afraid to act outside the square. As much as Steve (Smith) fronted for the winery, Steve was never a winemaker. He'd be the first to say that. Doug had good quality material to work with. He was certainly given good grapes and good vintages. But he was dealing with a young vineyards, and that takes a talented winemaker," Mr Saunders said.
"Most of all, though, Doug was one of life's genuine people. There was no bullshit around him. He was a real gentleman, one of life's real people," Mr Saunders said. Tim Turvey, from Clearview Estate winery, had become a close friend of Mr Wiser's in the past two years, and was due to attend a barbecue with him on Saturday.
"He was a very vital and very intelligent guy. For a young guy without a huge amount of time in the industry, he absolutely took to it," Mr Turvey said. "He was just about to buy a property and was talking about his own label under craggy's tutelage."