Man about town Ricardo Simich brings you Society Insider. This week, former Black Cap Ross Taylor has big plans for business in India; there’s a new Kiwi power couple in London; Megan Alatini has spoken out against homophobic abuse; Nick Mowbray and Liam Lawson’s Coachella
Society Insider: Black Cap Ross Taylor launches wine brand; The Curve’s Victoria Harris confirms new relationship; Megan Alatini on homophobic abuse
Subscribe to listen
Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber? Sign in here
Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
Nick Mowbray, left, and Liam Lawson, right, met up in California; Megan Alatini speaks out against homophobic abuse; Former Black Cap Ross Taylor has a new business venture; The Curve's Victoria Harris has confirmed her new relationship. Photo / Herald composite
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
“There may be more to talk about mid-year, when I hope to have a Central Otago Pinot Noir 2024 to market locally, and a Rosé is in the works too,” Taylor says. “Perhaps more of a fuss can be made then.”
Hamilton-based Taylor’s first vintages are grapes that proudly have the quality and characteristics found in the Marlborough region.
There are two, the 290 Marlborough Pinot Noir 2023 and the 181 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, with Taylor’s autograph on each label.
The 290 for his red wine represents 290 – Taylor’s score at the Waca in Perth against Australia in 2015. It is the highest ever score by a visiting test batsman in Australia.
The 181 for his white wine represents Taylor’s One Day International score of 181, not out, against England at the University Oval in Dunedin in 2018.
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
Taylor’s wines have gone on sale in New Zealand this week, exclusively at WineCraft in Wellington’s beachside suburb of Paraparaumu.
Society Insider understands there is only a limited run available in New Zealand.
Instead, Taylor’s focus is on exporting to India, where he has a large fan base with the cricket-mad nation, having previously played Indian Premier League Cricket from 2008 to 2014 for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rajasthan Royals, and Delhi Daredevils.
There is a growing wine industry in India, with high demand for NZ grapes, especially varietals from the Marlborough region.
According to global export-import data planner Volza, New Zealand exported 434 shipments of wine to India from October 2023 to September 2024, marking an annual growth rate of 27%.
Taylor is excited about his Indian business prospects. His first shipment arrived there last month, and he is currently registering the product, which he explains is processed on its arrival in the country.
Such is his fame in India, in March, Taylor co-led Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s 40-strong business delegation there, with Air New Zealand and ASB chair Dame Therese Walsh.
During Luxon’s State visit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was all smiles when he met Taylor.
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
While in India, Taylor played cricket on the streets of New Delhi with Luxon, Sports Minister Mark Mitchell, current Black Cap Ajaz Patel, who was also part of the delegation, and Indian cricket legend Kapil Dev.
The limited New Zealand run of Taylor’s wines is stocked exclusively at Paraparaumu’s WineCraft. Taylor says that WineCraft owner Brendon Nottage, considered to be one of the country’s most knowledgeable wine professionals, has been a big part of his wine journey.
Taylor has been a customer of Nottage’s for more than a decade and says his wine advice has been invaluable.
Taylor, his wife Victoria and their three children have a holiday home in Raglan, so they have also made sure their favourite local – George’s Beach Club – will serve his Marlborough vintages.
As part of this week’s official New Zealand launch, Taylor has been in store at WineCraft, meeting, greeting, tasting, and introducing customers to his Marlborough wines.
Customers have the chance to win a game of golf with Taylor at the Paraparaumu Golf Club at the end of May, with a signed bat and a signed copy of Taylor’s 2023 autobiography, Black and White.
Taylor isn’t the first Kiwi sportsman to have a nose for the wine business.
In March, Society Insider revealed All Black Beauden Barrett had gone into business with respected French wine connoisseur Jean-Benoit Auzely to establish the importing business Beau Jour.
Beau Jour has an exclusive mail order wine list, and late in March, Barrett had three successful wine tasting evenings with an array of Beau Jour’s best from Bordeaux at the Wine Room on Auckland’s College Hill.
Former All Black great and mental health campaigner Sir John Kirwan is also in the wine-importation business, bringing in Italian wines under the brand jk14 Wines.
Kiwi power couple in the making
Society Insider can reveal a new London-based Kiwi power couple in the worlds of sport and finance – Kiwi international golf commentator George Harper jnr and The Curve’s Victoria Harris.
Harris, a financial adviser who launched investing advice platform The Curve in 2020, confirmed the pair has been dating since October last year.
“We met in a very traditional way, a casual 4am slide into the DMs,” Harris tells Society Insider.
“Our first date was at the Broadway Markets in East London.”
It’s small wonder their paths didn’t cross earlier. Although Harris, 36, was raised in Auckland, she did her double major in economics and finance at the University of Canterbury, in 34-year-old Harper Jnr’s hometown of Christchurch.
For a decade, Harris worked as a portfolio manager at Milford Asset Management, Pie Funds and Devon, managing millions of dollars for hundreds of clients in New Zealand.
In 2020, she partnered with producer Sophie Hallwright to create The Curve, providing information for women on finance and investing.
Harper jnr gained a name for himself working in New Zealand as a content creator and presenter in sport. He co-founded sports commentary platform Short & Wide with Anthony Niterl and Andrew James, and gained a cult following.
In 2016, Short & Wide had a season on TVNZ On Demand and Duke, and Harper jnr went on to become a familiar face in sports broadcasting, primarily in rugby and cricket.
After covering the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, Harper jnr spread his wings for good and has been following sport all over the world ever since.
The pair are well on their way to becoming a veritable power couple in London.
Harper jnr is based out of the UK and broadcasts on the biggest golf stage at The Open Championship and the DP World Tour, where he is a roving reporter, commentating and diving deep with the best golfers on the planet.
He recently signed with UK-based Modest! Sports Marketing. The company’s music division represents UK singer Niall Horan, formerly of One Direction.
Last year Harris moved The Curve to the UK and raised $1m from angel investors to grow and scale the business.
The Curve community now numbers more than 70,000, and its podcast has had more than 1.2m downloads. Harris and Hallwright recently launched an investing club, and they have ambitions for it to become one of the world’s biggest.
Harris says the recent market volatility has seen a huge spike in their membership.
Working on her start-up, she pretty much lives and breathes her work, which complements Harper jnr’s work ethic. He travels regularly to prestigious golf and cricket tournaments all around the world.
“It’s hard, but we put great importance on prioritising each other,” Harris tells Society Insider.
Harris says that their romance plays into the adage that opposites attract. While she helps people plan financially, Harper jnr loves spending and has a horrible credit rating, but a good sports betting rating.
While Harper jnr might be on a first-name basis with global golf stars and many of New Zealand’s sporting greats, Harris is great friends with America’s Cup winning skipper Peter Burling and his wife Lucinda, and has attended her fair share of Sail GPs around the globe.
The pair were able to come home and meet each other’s families over the New Zealand summer, including enjoying time at the moneyed Coromandel beach spot, Matarangi.
Harper jnr worked on the international cricket coverage with TVNZ and the Blackcaps, as well as appearing on Sky’s The ACC Does Game of 2 Halves, while Harris networked The Curve.
Megan Alatini shocked by homophobic abuse
Megan Alatini has been in the spotlight for more than 25 years, but she can still be shocked by the public’s reaction to her personal life.
The TrueBliss star was on the cover of in recently, celebrating her wedding to her partner, police Sergeant Natalie McDade. The story also appeared in the Herald.
Alatini and McDade have known each other for 18 years as friends and in late 2023 they began a relationship. By the following New Year’s day, the pair were engaged.
Alatini, whose first marriage was to former All Black Pita Alatini, says she was shocked by the homophobic social media abuse she received about the new chapter in her life.
“Let’s be clear, you don’t have to understand or accept someone’s sexuality, religion, or background, that’s your journey,” Alatini tells Society Insider.
“But what you don’t have the right to do is demean, insult, or bully someone - especially when you know nothing about them, their struggles, or their story,” she says.
Alatini says the anonymity of the internet doesn’t give anyone a free pass to be cruel.
When she shared the fun of her and McDade’s magical day, she did not expect to be told to repent for her sins for being gay, to hide or give up her sexuality.
“It’s still happening too much in a country where I thought we were much more enlightened,” she says.
The couple’s March wedding was a beautiful affair with more than 250 guests at the Glasshouse in Morningside, including Alatini’s three children and one grandchild, and McDade’s five children.
A-list friends in attendance included Alatini’s TrueBliss bandmates, Erika Takacs and Joe Cotton; her former Celebrity Treasure Island castmates Miriama Smith, Mary Lambie and Blair Strang; and long-term friend Colin Mathura-Jeffree.
Alatini says she is used to putting herself out there and can mostly brush off abusive comments.
However, she says she went into defence mode as a parent, a daughter and a partner.
“My children saw the posts, as well as my mother and my wife.
“Imagine my embarrassment seeing my mama jump into a thread defending her daughter’s honour,” she says.
Having her family read the hate and the casual cruelty very much hurt them.
“It planted seeds of self-doubt, fear, and shame that no child or family member should have to carry.”
Alatini wants to remind people that New Zealand’s suicide rates are “heartbreakingly high”, especially among LGBTQ+ youth.
“Every thoughtless comment, every joke, every slur adds to a mountain of pain that some people simply can’t climb,” she says.
Alatini says online bullies and keyboard trolls need to know it’s not just words on a screen; the words are real and can destroy people’s lives.
“It’s disheartening to see comments telling people to ask God for forgiveness. The God I know loves all people without exception.”
Alatini says that at the heart of every faith is compassion, acceptance, and love. She has friends who have faced hate at an even deeper level compared to her own experiences of being in a same-sex relationship.
“I’ve met individuals who, in earlier years, had to pretend to be someone else just to be accepted – at work, in their own families, in their churches, on their sports teams.”
She says she thought about sweeping the abuse under the carpet and ignoring the naysayers, but her integrity wouldn’t let her.
“How can I expect others to stand up for themselves if I don’t lead by example?”
Alatini intends to use her profile and her personal experiences to advocate for those who may not have a voice. She hopes that by standing up, she gives people something to think about before they type in discrimination.
“If you can’t show kindness, at least show restraint,” she says.
Mowbray and Lawson reunite at country music fest
Last weekend Zuru billionaire Nick Mowbray and his fiancée, Jaimee Lupton, had a reunion with Kiwi racing star Liam Lawson and his girlfriend, Hannah St John, at the Stagecoach Festival in the Coachella Valley.
It’s the first time Lawson and Mowbray have met up since Red Bull Racing replaced Lawson with Yuki Tsunoda as Max Verstappen’s teammate late last March, seeing Lawson now races for Racing Bulls.
A few weeks before the swap, Lawson drove his first of two international Grand Prix for Red Bull Racing in Melbourne. After surviving a hard day on a wet track at Albert Park, placing 15th, Lawson and St John joined Mowbray and friends for dinner at Nobu at Crown.
Mowbray met Lawson at the Las Vegas Grand Prix in November, and the pair have become firm friends since.
Earlier in March, Zuru Toys and Lawson announced a new partnership that would see the brand appearing on Lawson’s race helmet for the coming season.
Attending the Stagecoach festival with Mowbray, Lawson and co, were Lawson’s talent agent, Los Angeles-based Mikayla Haycock and her fiancé, NZ Rich List son and robotics engineer Toby Baker, and NZ-based brand manager of Heineken, Jonty Holmes.
Last month, Haycock told Society Insider they had secured VVIP tickets for the Stagecoach Festival, which featured an array of country stars, including Luke Combs and The Castellows, as well as not-so-country acts, like Paris Hilton.
Also spotted at Stagecoach was LA-based Kiwi Rich List daughter Cameo Turner, who arrived at the festival in a stretch limousine. Turner had just come off working in the Bahamas with her friends from LA-based women’s clothing label, Show Me Your Mumu.
Mowbray and Lupton have been Stateside most of April, with Lupton doing beauty launches and marketing for her brands, Monday Haircare and her new product range, Daise Beauty.
While in the US, Mowbray has spoken out to the media about President Trump’s tariffs and the impact they will have on him and his brother Mat’s company Zuru. As their products are mainly manufactured in China, they were facing a 145% import tax to the US.
In mid-April, Mowbray told Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking Breakfast their company would ship about $2 billion worth of goods to the US this year, which would have a tariff of about $3b.
Since then, there has been better news with Trump softening his tariff talk, and last week, Mowbray announced on LinkedIn that Zuru has purchased an office building on the Costco HQ campus in Seattle.
While in California, Mowbray and Lupton rented a beautiful Los Angeles mansion with views of the Pacific and jetted into Stagecoach for the night.
Haycock, Baker, Lawson and St John rented a classic modernist Palm Springs pad to take in the full weekend of Stagecoach.
Haycock, Baker, and St John are expected to fly to Miami to support Lawson at the Florida city’s Grand Prix this weekend.
A good week for... Anton Lienert-Brown
All Black Anton Lienert-Brown celebrated his 30th birthday with a civilised dinner in Hamilton last Saturday night.
Fresh off a Chiefs’ Super Rugby win against the Force at Blake Park in Mount Maunganui the night before, Lienert-Brown wore his arm in a sling from an on-field injury at his birthday celebration. Although his big day was on April 15, Lienert-Brown’s long-term partner, finance manager Olivia Robertson, organised a celebration on April 26 at Lienert-Brown’s base in Hamilton.
Among the friends in attendance were some of his Chiefs and All Blacks teammates and partners.
Fellow All Black Beauden Barrett and his wife, influencer Hannah Laity, travelled down from Auckland for the celebration. Lienert-Brown’s Chiefs and All Blacks teammate, and business partner in the RTD business, Grins – Damian McKenzie – was there too with his girlfriend, digital marketer Georgia O’Sullivan, the daughter of thoroughbred racing royalty Lance and Bridget.
After a champagne toast at home, the troop headed into central Hamilton for dinner at Gothenburg Tapas Bar and Restaurant on Grantham St, overlooking the Waikato River.
The restaurant created a special “Dirty Thirty” menu for Lienert-Brown and his guests. On the menu was a selection of bites, including crudo and beef tataki and plates including prawn and scallop tortellini and seared sirloin, followed by a birthday cake.
On Monday, Lienert-Brown revealed his injury was a broken collarbone, which will need surgery and may keep him sidelined for up to eight weeks.
On the same day, 1News reported that Lienert-Brown will take a sabbatical next year and play for Japanese club Kobe.
Party people of the week
Marlon Williams: Ngā Ao E Rua - Two Worlds
The world premiere for Kiwi musician Marlon Williams’ new documentary, Ngā Ao E Rua - Two Worlds, took place at The Civic on Tuesday night. The film is released in cinemas nationwide today.
Directed by Ursula Grace-Williams (Zealandia, Still Here, The King), the film is an intimate four-year portrait of Williams (Kāi Tahu, Ngāi Tai) as he writes and records his first te reo Māori language album Te Whare Tīwekaweka. The film shows the personal challenges he faces along the way and weaves Williams’ different worlds together, from international tours and recording the album, to life in his hometown of Ōhinehou (Lyttleton).
Hot off performing his new album in New York and London, Williams was blown away by The Civic crowd’s reception to the film. Broadcaster and fluent te reo Māori speaker, Stacey Morrison, hosted the event, and Williams was joined on the red carpet by his reo mentor and album collaborator, Kommi, director Ursula Grace-Williams and his girlfriend, Georgia Knight, a Melbourne-based musician. A waiata from his Tōrere whānau gave Williams a nice surprise.
Fellow musicians in attendance included Shihad’s Jon Toogood, Erny Belle, James Milne (Lawrence Arabia) and Hollie Fullbrook from Tiny Ruins.
Other well-known faces who came to support Williams included broadcasters Jess Tyson, Charlotte Ryan and Kerre Woodham, and actors and comedians Harry McNaughton, Tom Sainsbury, Brynley Stent, Kura Forrester, Rhiannon McCall and filmmaker Chelsea Winstanley.
Ricardo Simich has been with the Herald since 2008 where he contributed to The Business Insider. In 2012 he took over Spy at the Herald on Sunday, which has since evolved into Society Insider. The weekly column gives a glimpse into the worlds of the rich and famous.
