Signing puts seal on French connection

French Embassy culture and science councillor Jean-Georges Mandon, of Wellington, signs an agreement to make an annual exchange between French and New Zealand viticulture students official, at Mt Difficulty vineyard in Bannockburn yesterday. Photo by Rosie Manins.

Staff from Otago Polytechnic's Cromwell campus signed agreement documents with French officials and local wine-makers at Mt Difficulty vineyard.

Viticulture students from Burgundy in France were also present, having almost completed their New Zealand exchange programme.

The annual exchange has been organised by the polytechnic as well as the Central Otago Winegrowers Association since 2006.

Students travelled from a viticulture institution at Beaune in the French wine-growing region of Burgundy and learned Central Otago grape growing and wine-making techniques, and took part in the local annual grape harvest.

In exchange, three or four students from the polytechnic's Cromwell campus viticulture course travelled to Beaune for a similar programme during August and September.

To date, 25 students had been on the exchange.

Yesterday's ceremony was supposed to include members of the Beaune faculty, although recent international travel disruptions prevented them from attending.

Instead representatives from the French Embassy in Wellington and the New Zealand-France Friendship Fund signed the agreement on their behalf.

The friendship fund, which was established in 1991 following the Rainbow Warrior dispute settlement process, had allowed New Zealand students to travel to Burgundy on the exchange in recent years.

Central Otago Winegrowers Association president Nick Mills, of Wanaka, said he hoped Beaune faculty staff could visit Central Otago within the next year as originally intended, and for established relationships between the areas to strengthen further.

rosie.manins@odt.co.nz