Diana Katardzhieva - Winemaker
Diana is a winemaker whose instinctive touch with the grape comes from her family heritage. A Bulgarian winemaker in New Zealand, she has generations of grape growers and winemakers before her in her homeland, said by some historians to be the birthplace of wine.
After 15 years working in Bulgaria’s wine industry Diana arrived in New Zealand. Experienced with old world vines, her first vintage in Marlborough in 2004 was a huge shift away from all she’d been accustomed to, in size and scale and the approach to wine making.
But with her background, Diana is able to rely on her instinct and expertise to make Whitehaven’s classic Chardonnay true to the traditional style even though she is working with grapes and vines and temperatures in marked contrast to those from her Balkan background.
Diana also holds a Master qualification specialising in technology for microbiological and fermentation products from the University of Food Technologies in Plovdiv. This solid science background provides invaluable support to the rest of the winemaking team who produce Whitehaven’s premier wines.