In Big Sur, California, an eccentric house has hit the market for a whopping $US3.265m (NZ$5.2m).
The Barrel House is an architect-designed property that does what it says on the tin – the house is built from two connected redwood wine barrels.
In their past lives, each of the two barrels would have held over 80,000 litres of wine. Today, it’s a bespoke residence designed by famed local architect Mickey Meunnig, dubbed “the man who built Big Sur”.
The house perches on Pfeiffer Point and it was designed by Mickey Meunnig, often called “the man who built Big Sur”.
The three-bedroom house is built on the side of a steep cliff and has superb views of the mountains and sea beyond.
Exposed redwood walls and ceilings give the interior a rich, rustic look that is amplified by the owner’s eclectic furniture.
The round living room boasts 180-degree views, with west-facing windows bringing in plenty of golden light in the afternoons.
One can only imagine how wonderful it smells when the sun warms the “barrels”.
There are plenty of windows to catch the light right through the day, and a woodburner for chilly winter evenings.
Up a curved timber staircase are two cosy bedrooms, each occupying a whole floor.
The home may look rustic, but it exudes an air of quiet luxury, with the bedrooms upstairs offering a quiet sanctuary.
The main bathroom comes with a generous tub big enough for two, overlooking the gardens and woodland.
There is also a wraparound deck, 2.02ha of grounds, and a bespoke one-bedroom guest house carved into the bluff. This is built from another reclaimed redwood wine barrel.
The idea of a blended wine isn’t news to wine lovers. Wines are individually made then mixed together to achieve the product you see on the shelf. Bordeaux wines are a combination of as many as five red wines to make one signature blend, and even non-vintage champagne is a blended wine where chardonnay pinot noir and pinot meunier wines are used to achieve a house style. In this instance, the blend undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle, giving the champagne its signature bubbles.
A lesser-known style of blend is the field blend. This wine is traditionally made from grapes that have been grown together and are then co-fermented. While a traditional blend is mixed in the winery after the fact, a field blend is created in the vineyard before the wine is made. With this comes a level of faith by the winemaker that they have put the right grapes together, and a certain unpredictability about the outcome. This is certainly a case where the vintage matters because the blend can change year on year, meaning you always have a different outcome.
Field blends are sublime, fresh and crisp with layers of aroma and flavour thanks to the multiple grape varieties that feature in the mix. I love this type of blend because I believe it is the ultimate reflection of terroir. It is a true expression of where the grapes are grown, as the focus is not on one particular grape and what that single varietal wine ‘should’ taste like. Instead, it’s a wine made from a mixture of grapes grown together in the same vineyard, reflecting what is truly special about that place.
Field blends are usually found in restaurants, as they are incredible food wines, or in specialist liquor stores. They are worth seeking out – I promise you won’t be disappointed.
University of Otago food science senior lecturer Dr Biniam Kebede has been awarded $300,000 in funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to carry out a new research project aimed at protecting New Zealand’s wine industry from fraud. PHOTO: GERARD O’BRIEN
As food fraud continues to grow around the world, Otago researchers have begun a ground-breaking project aimed at protecting the New Zealand wine industry from imposters.
University of Otago food science senior lecturer Dr Biniam Kebede is developing an artificial intelligence-powered hyperspectral imaging technique to test wine authenticity and traceability — all without opening the bottle.
The portable cutting-edge initiative aims to strengthen the industry’s integrity, combat fraud and ensure product safety.
There was a growing food fraud problem across all commodities, Dr Kebede said.
“That issue has also been increasing after Covid-19 because there is less control, supply chain disruptions — all those things.
“One of the most common forms of food fraud is geographical origin fraud, where a wine from one country could be claimed to be from another country.”
New Zealand wine was well known for its good quality and unique flavour, so consumers were willing to pay a higher price for it.
“Some people will take advantage of that, so we have to protect that.
“Geographical origin fraud can severely impact a brand’s reputation and market trust.”
One of the ways to check where a wine was from was to taste it or do a chemical analysis on it, he said.
It was a well-established method, but it meant opening the bottle.
“You can’t sell it once you’ve done that.
“So, we are trying to leverage advancements in imaging methods, like hyperspectral imaging.
“There are a number of imaging methods which you can use to analyse the contents without opening the bottle.
“You basically shine infrared light through the bottle, and it will give very complex imaging data, which is where artificial intelligence and deep learning will be used.”
The main part of the research was to create an imaging database of existing New Zealand wines, so it could be used to verify the authenticity of other wines claiming to be from New Zealand.
“We want to focus on protecting the integrity, the traceability and the origin of the product.
“The development of effective techniques for ensuring food integrity has broad national and global benefits.
“It strengthens the economy, enhances market reputation and boosts consumer confidence and premium pricing.”
Similar research had been used to verify the authenticity of coffees, Dr Kebede said.
The project was recently awarded $300,000 in Catalyst funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment as part of the New Zealand-China Strategic Research Alliance.
The project brings together leading research institutes and industry stakeholders from the University of Otago, AgResearch, Oritain and China-based company Sinolight Technology Innovation Centre Ltd.
Mission Estate winemaker Paul Mooney retires after 45 years
After a 45+ year tenure, we have farewelled our famed winemaker, Paul Mooney.
How do you sum up a career that long? Paul has been here since 1979 and has seen numerous changes within the industry and Mission itself.
He has always loved innovation in wine and has been deeply involved in sustainability in the winery. We are 60% more water efficient and 67% more energy efficient than other like-sized NZ wineries, making Mission an industry leader.
If forced to pick one, Paul feels that 2009 was his favourite vintage. It is no coincidence that the 2009 Jewelstone Cabernet Merlot blend (now known as ‘Antoine’) received outstanding reviews, culminating in the infamous tasting led by Lisa Perotti-Brown MV, held in Hong Kong in 2011.
Jewelstone ‘Antoine’ came third in the line-up which included five French First Growths valued at thousands of dollars a bottle.
Paul is a treasured person around Mission, and we wish him well for his next chapter of history in the making.
Having worked alongside Paul for the past 13 years EIT graduate Alex Roper is now relishing the challenge of honouring his legacy, expertly assisted by Jillian Meier and the wider team.
This expertise, passion and dedication are the foundations of Mission’s excellence. The team is excited to be continuing to make history in the Mission spirit.
Along with its famous pinot noir, the region also produces excellent riesling wines CREDIT: Getty
The world’s most southerly commercial wine region, Central Otago produces pinot noir considered among the finest on earth.
There are plenty of reasons people from all over the world make the long journey to the southern part of New Zealand’s South Island.
The majestic, jaw-dropping scenery for one – Mount Cook, Milford Sound, the Southern Alps, glaciers and turquoise lakes – and the many opportunities for hiking, kayaking, climbing and (eek) bungy jumping.
I travelled there recently with another main aim – to visit the wineries of the world’s most southerly commercial vine-growing region, Central Otago. To the east of the Southern Alps, close to popular Queenstown on Lake Wakatipu, the Central Otago vines cling to a rugged, rocky terrain. Winemaking only took off here in the 1990s.
Sheltered by the mountains, it’s very arid with hardly any top soil on the foothills, and the weather can be harsh, wind whistling through the vineyards and frosts striking at almost any time of year.
But vines that have to work hard can make the very best of wines, and the nuanced, beautifully balanced pinot noir eked out in this region is considered among the finest in the world.
Mount Cook National Park is home to some jaw-dropping scenery CREDIT: Getty
Sam Neill, the New Zealand actor, owns and is based at his winery Two Paddocks in Alexandra, Central Otago. The most hands-on of “celebrity winemakers”, he tells me half-jokingly that “rational people shouldn’t make wine here”.
‘But,’ he continues, ‘I’ve learned that to produce great pinot, you have to teeter on the edge of viability.’
There’s certainly huge complexity in the region’s hard-won pinots: savoury, spicy notes, a whiff of violets and smoke and something woody-herbal, redolent of the scrubby wild thyme bushes that cling to the hillsides all around.
It’s not just pinot that makes an impact here. Chardonnay and pinot gris can impress but my favourite whites from the region are its Rieslings, usually dry and intensely flavoured with super-fresh citrus and orchard fruit. If you love German, Austrian and Australian Riesling, you really need to try these most southerly ones.
Although very few Central Otago wines make it into the major retailers (the region only produces 3% of New Zealand’s wines), plenty of independent merchants stock a few.
They’re not cheap, as you might expect from a small region with very low-yielding vineyards, but I think the best rank comfortably alongside those from the traditional, long-established vineyard areas of the world.
Peregrine Riesling 2022, Central Otago 12%, Great Wine, £28.85 | $32.00NZD Compelling and beautifully balanced organic riesling, almost dry, and aromatic with lime and lemongrass character and a very succulent long finish. The incisive acidity points to a good “ager”, although it’s delicious now, especially with white fish ceviche.
Two Paddocks Picnic Riesling 2022, Central Otago 12%, ndjohn.co.uk, £19.95; Harvey Nichols, £23 | $36.00NZD Actor Sam Neill’s organic Picnic Riesling is shot through with zesty citrus, and there are notes of green apple and pear too. It’s slightly off-dry and that dab of honey makes it a great match for ham, pork pies and mild cheeses (picnic food then) as well as seafood.
Mount Difficulty Pinot Noir 2022, Central Otago 14%, Waitrose, £29.99 | $47NZD Bursting with juicy red fruits, especially red cherries, this is nonetheless much more than a sweet “fruit bomb” of a wine, with savoury, earthy and spicy complexity and ending dry. Its texture is sublimely soft and silky. I’d drink this with medium-rare duck breast.
Rockburn Pinot Noir 2022, Central Otago 14%, strictlywine.co.uk, £38.50 | From $49NZD Down to £29.99 while stocks last, minimum three bottles Rockburn is one to watch. Named after the craggy landscape and with Felton Road ex-winemaker Malcolm Rees-Francis at the helm, its wines are distinctively elegant and poised. This fresh, vivacious pinot offers a beguiling aroma of cherries, violets and tart raspberries. Good offer too.
Felton Road Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2022, Central Otago 14%, Lea & Sandeman, £47.50 | $67NZD Felton Road owns some of the oldest vineyards in the region, dating back to the 1990s, and is part-owned by Englishman Nigel Greening. Its near-cult status is due to pinots like this – inky purple and super-smooth, rich with ripe blackberries and a seam of chocolate, with a dash of woody herbs, especially thyme. Organic, too. Deserves a fine steak.
‘Every other night I do vodka, but the other nights I do brandy, bourbon, Irish whiskey, and honey whiskey,’ Elinor Campbell Feihel says.
For 101-year-old Elinor Campbell Feihel, the secret to a long life is belief in God and the occasional veneration of the spirits – the alcoholic kind. “I drink a little,” Feihel told WSYX in Columbus, Ohio. “I have a whole bar.”
“Every other night I do vodka, but the other nights I do brandy, bourbon, Irish whiskey, and honey whiskey,” the great-grandmother told the station in an interview that aired Wednesday.
Feihel’s birthday is Oct. 14, but she’s not making any big plans to celebrate this year, noting that the party for her centennial was the “last hurrah.”
Often compared to Sophia from the TV show “The Golden Girls,” for her zinger comebacks, Feihel was born in 1921 at the beginning of the Roaring Twenties but grew up during the Great Depression.
“I learned from the Depression,” she said. “It did not victimize me. It was good for me. I was about to be a princess, and princesses don’t have a good life.”
With three children, nine grandchildren, and 18 great-grandchildren, Feihel said she continues to expand her network of acquaintances.
“I’m in touch with a lot of people, a lot of people,” she said. “I send out 130 to 150 Christmas cards. I’m good for something. Not just taking up space.”
And while she says part of the key to staying positive is not planning ahead, she does keep Saturdays open for actor Tom Selleck – the “Blue Bloods” version, not the “Magnum, P.I.” one.
“Tom Selleck and I have lunch every Saturday because he’s on Friday night,” Feihel said, adding that she tapes the show.
The wine pictured in the glass urn. / Credit: Juan Manuel Román
Archaeologists have found an urn of wine that is more than 2,000 years old, making it the “oldest wine ever discovered,” researchers said in a new study. The glass funerary urn was found in a Roman tomb in Carmona, Spain, that archaeologists first uncovered in 2019.
A team of chemists at the University of Cordoba recently identified the wine as having been preserved since the first century, researchers said in a study published June 16 in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. The discovery bested the previous record held by a Speyer wine bottle discovered in 1867 that dated back to the fourth century.
The urn was used in a funerary ritual that involved two men and two women. As part of the ritual, the skeletal remains of one of the men was immersed in the wine. While the liquid had acquired a reddish hue, a series of chemical tests determined that, due to the absence of a certain acid, the wine was, in fact, white.
“At first we were very surprised that liquid was preserved in one of the funerary urns,” Juan Manuel Román, the city of Carmona’s municipal archaeologist, said in a news release.
Despite millennia having passed, the tomb had been well-sealed, and its conditions were therefore extraordinarily intact, protected from floods and leaks, which allowed the wine to maintain its natural state, researchers said. “Most difficult to determine was the origin of the wine, as there are no amples from the same period with which to compare it,” the news release said. Still, it was no coincidence that the man’s remains were found in the wine. According to the study, women in ancient Rome were prohibited from drinking wine.
“It was a man’s drink,” the release said. “And the two glass urns in the Carmona tomb are elements illustrating Roman society’s gender divisions in its funerary rituals.”
Wine News by Mike Desimone and Jeff Jenssen – Robb Report – also known as the World Wine Guys, are wine spirits, food and travel writers, educators and hosts.
Sparkling Wine Will Break Free of the Holidays
The Wine Press has been saying this for years, but it looks like consumers are finally embracing the idea that Champagne and other sparkling wines are not only for special occasions and holidays. Expect to see a lot more of your friends ordering a glass of Champagne or popping a bottle open at home at regular dinners and get-togethers, not just celebrations.
The Coming Bubble Boom will have people looking beyond Champagne
RAY MASSEY/GETTY
The increased demand for sparkling wine means that we’re all going to be drinking a vriety of styles and regions, including Spanish Cava; Italian Franciacorta, Trentodoc and Prosecco; and California sparkling. Wine bars, restaurants and shops will also be offering more renditions of ‘pet-nat’, a natural sparkler than can be from anywhere wine is made.
Rosé is Going Haute
Drinking Rosé throughout the year has gone from tend to permanent status and we will see more and more premium offerings entering the market. We’ve been expecting to see luxury competition for pioneers in the space such as Domaine Ott, Château d’Esclans and Gérard Bertrand for some time, and LVMH’s major investment in Château Minuty earlier this year sealed the deal as far as we’re concerned. Expanded – and pricier – Rosé selections are on their way to a restaurant near you.
Expect Italy to Heat Up the Auction Block
WILK
We tapped Nick Pegna, Sotheby’s global head of wine and spirits, for his thoughts, and he in turn polled some of the auction house’s younger specialists to see what they’re hearing about new bright spots in the wine sphere. According to Pegna, Piedmont is on its way up in the auction world, so look to see more Barolo and Barbaresco. We’ve been hearing a lot about (and tasting plenty of) Brunello as well, so keep an eye on Italy’s three B’s.
Connoisseurs Will Have Better Options for Low and No-Alcohol Wines
As Dry January, Sober October, ‘Mindful Drinking’ and well, just drinking less persist in their upward climb, no and low alcohol wine will continue to grow as well. Many people stop drinking temporarily for numerous reasons that include pregnancy, medication regimes or training for a marathon or triathlon, yet they still want to enjoy the social aspect of having a glass of wine with friends.
Although at the onset the category was flooded with low quality dealcoholized bulk wine, we are seeing a growth in single vineyard offerings from well-known regions.
You’ll Be Hearing More About Carbon Footprints
The future of the wine industry is in peril due to rising summer temperatures and unstable weather patterns, and many producers are taking it upon themselves to sound the alarm and become changemakers. Expect to see an increase in the number of back labels talking about sustainability, low water utilization, and regenerative farming, and don’t be surprised when even top icon wines start using lighter-weight bottles to reduce the impact of freight shipping and material usage.
Younger wine drinkers are driving the movement toward transparency on this front.
White Wine’s Upswing Is Nigh
While it was thought for many years that serious wine drinkers only drink red wine, it is now obvious that for multiple reasons white wine is finally starting to be treated with equal respect. A lot of attention is being paid to white Burgundy, Napa, and Sonoma Chardonnay, the whites of the Rhône Valley, and Riesling and other aromatic varieties from Germany, Austria, Alsace, and Alto Adige in Italy. And we’re seeing a rise in interest in premium white wine from Spain, Greece, Portugal, Croatia, New Zealand, and other Italian regions. As much as we love our steak and Cabernet Sauvignon, since we all are moving toward a lighter style of eating—at least occasionally—we are going to see our wine choices change to match.
Two Words Collide – June NZ House & Garden
If you can’t decide between wine or beer, check out Garage Project’s Savoir Faire Pinot Noir Raspberry ’18. It’s a beer/wine hybrid, made from hand-harvested Marlborough pinot noir grapes, lightly crushed, added to a specially brewed malt wort and allowed to ferment for a week before being aged in oak wine barrels then rested on fresh raspberries. 750ml $35 from garageproject.co.nz.
Something Different – July NZ House & Garden
SOUTHERN CHARMS: New to the gin game, Bluff Distillery draws inspiration from the spirit of New Zealand’s southernmost town, making gin that reflects the essence of Bluff – ‘clean, bold and unapologetically authentic’. The London Dry-style gin comes in a custom bottle in the shape of an old glass buoy, a symbol of the maritime heritage that defines this tiny town. 700ml $89.85 from bluffdistillery.com.
ROCKIN’ VERMOUTH: Central Otago distillery Scapegrace has teamed up with its wine-making neighbours, Profhet’s Rock, to produce Scapegrace x Prophet’s Rock Vermouth, available in red and white. Mostly made with local ingredients, the white vermouth is bright and herbaceous with candied floral notes, finishing woody and bitter with wild thyme and wormwood. 705ml $72 from prophetsrock.co.nz and scapegracedistilleryy.com.
Steve Brennan of The Green Circle shows how marc left over from winemaking will be made into biochar. PENNY WARDLE / MARLBOROUGH EXPRESS
The Green Circle, a Blenheim startup company, and Yealands Wine are piloting a method to convert grape waste into 80% pure carbon.
The resulting product, biochar, held up to four times its weight in moisture, provided a home for soil microbes, boosted the value of compost and fertiliser, and could be added to animal feed.
As part of last week’s Climate Action Week Marlborough programme, a demonstration at the Yealands plant near Seddon showed forestry wood-waste and grapevine stumps being fed into one end of a machine and biochar being spat out the other.
The biochar, a charcoal-like substance, was slightly damp from moisture added to reduce its temperature from as high as 1000C.
Brennan encourages people to see, touch and interact with the biochar product. PENNY WARDLE / MARLBOROUGH EXPRESS
The Green Circle founder and director Steve Brennan and chief executive David Savidan said the machine being used for the pilot would dry marc at Yealands this vintage.
Marc is the seeds, skins and stalks left behind when wine is made.
“As much as possible” would be converted to biochar using pyrolysis, which is the burning of organic material at super-hot temperatures with no oxygen.
The biggest challenge would be scaling up to use available waste, improve efficiency and make biochar affordable, Brennan said.
Depending on the size and moisture content of material being fed in, an average of 20 tonnes could be processed per day, Savidan later told the Marlborough Express.
This time next year, the company planned to have several machines with capacity to process 15,000 to 20,000 tonnes. These would be based at a site central to vineyards, ideally in Renwick or Riverlands.
Last year, about 393,865 tonnes of grapes were harvested in Marlborough, according to Marcus Pickens of Wine Marlborough.
About 20%, or almost 80,000 tonnes, of that volume was marc.
Brennan said the 6 million or so vine trunks that were removed from Marlborough vineyards each year and 40,000 to 50,000 tonnes of prunings could also undergo pyrolysis.
Wine companies could dig biochar back into vineyards to sequester carbon for a zero footprint, he suggested.
However, there was not yet New Zealand demand for high-carbon biochar, Savidan said. The Green Circle’s business plan included researching local benefits that would later be shared.
Yealands sustainability manager Andrée Piddington, right, talks about biochar benefits with, from left, Heather Turnbull, John Baldridge and Tracy Taylor. PENNY WARDLE / MARLBOROUGH EXPRESS
Yealands sustainability manager Andrée Piddington said the winemaker was keen for solutions because composting marc could cause leachate runoff.
Even if The Green Circle did nothing but dry marc, she would be happy, Piddington said. It could be stored with no risk of runoff and then sold as livestock feed.
Yealands was planning a trial in which biochar would be added to compost and then applied to soil.
Digging biochar into the ground to lock in carbon was appealing but not practical among the posts and wires of established vineyards, Piddington said. This could be possible as new areas were developed or old areas replaced.
Savidan said The Green Circle would charge clients to process their grape marc, at the cost of disposal. They could buy biochar at discounted rates.
Checking a handful of biochar are, from left, Nick Gerritsen, Gavin Beattie from Port Marlborough, and David Savidan of The Green Circle. PENNY WARDLE / MARLBOROUGH EXPRESS
The company was the sole New Zealand distributor of its pyrolysis machine, bought from an Australian manufacturer that planned to take the technology global, Savidan said. The Green Circle designed and owned the New Zealand-made drier.
The company was also talking with Marlborough forest and aquaculture companies, Savidan said. OneFortyOne was looking into transforming wood waste, while New Zealand King Salmon was considering turning dead fish into soil stimulants.
In June 2020, the Marlborough District Council, Massey University and the Ministry for the Environment analysed five options for repurposing grape marc.
In their report, biochar was said to deliver “far and away the best environmental outcome. Going down the biochar route means the industry potentially has the opportunity to offset the emissions from all other parts of the production and supply chain.”
Indevin founder Duncan McFarlane is thrilled the company is the official wine supplier of the New Zealand Olympic Committee. ANTHONY PHELPS / STUFF
Marlborough will be well-represented at this year’s Olympic Games in Paris, France.
Indevin Group has announced it will be the official wine supplier of the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC).
Indevin will provide its Villa Maria wines at all NZOC events around the globe, including those hosted at New Zealand House in Paris during the Olympic Games.
Indevin was started by Marlborough man Duncan McFarlane in 2003. In 20 years, it has grown to become New Zealand’s largest wine company, with its 15 Valley winery – the company’s largest – at Cloudy Bay, south of Blenheim. Today, it is mostly owned by Blenheim’s Greg Tomlinson and his Tomlinson Group.
Indevin bought the Villa Maria brand, with its connections to Marlborough dating back to the 1980s, in 2021.
McFarlane, who plans to retire as chief executive of Indevin this year, said the company was thrilled with its partnership with the NZOC.
“This is the pinnacle event for New Zealand’s athletes and an opportunity for all New Zealanders to support the hard work and success of our team … we’re honoured to have Villa Maria contribute to the celebrations as our incredible athletes compete on the world stage.”
McFarlane said Indevin and the NZOC were the perfect pairing.
“We share NZOC’s ambition to deliver meaningful impact both within our own teams, and in the communities within which we live, work and play.
“As the official wine supplier of the NZOC, we look forward to raising a glass of Villa Maria to the success of New Zealand athletes and contributing to the vibrant spirit of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.”
Dressage rider Melissa Galloway and her horse Joey have been back home in Tuamarina for the past year. ANTHONY PHELPS / STUFF
One of those athletes could well be Tuamarina dressage rider Melissa Galloway, who had done “everything” she needed to reach the qualifying standard for this year’s Olympic Games.
NZOC chief executive Nicki Nicol said the NZOC was proud to welcome Indevin as an official supplier.
“We’re thrilled to be welcoming Indevin to our Olympic family at a really exciting time,” Nicol said.
“Indevin is known for excellence in winemaking, and at the NZOC, excellence is what we stand for, so there’s a really nice synergy between our brands and we look forward to promoting and showcasing their fantastic locally-made products.”
verything seems normal, until your food emerges silently from the kitchen.
Imagine virtual wine tastings from 31,000 feet, robot room service and exploring countries from the comfort of a couch. That’s what the tourism industry is exploring with new technology emerging at a rapid pace.
Hundreds of industry leaders have been discussing if they are ready – or not – at the Tourism Summit Aotearoa in Te Whanganui a Tara Wellington on Tuesday.
The robot revolution has already arrived at Sudima Hotels, and chief operating officer Les Morgan said they were handy helpers to have around. “Now with the addition of a service bot, it is possible to get a cocktail to your door without having to speak, smile or put on pants for a stranger.”
A robot receptionist at Henn Na hotel in Japan. The tourism industry is exploring with new technology emerging at a rapid pace.
One hotel has two service robots, serving 90% of orders. “Their hours are equal to about 1.5 (full-time equivalents) or approximately $90,000 per annum in wages. “They require no induction, no training, no staff meals, no leave.”
Morgan said he did not want hotels to become sterile, staff-free places, but the robots had their uses and could save time.
From next year, Sudima will introduce specialist robots to clean common areas and act as helpers for staff to transfer linen and products.
Sky Motion uses virtual reality to help people explore places they may never have travelled to before.
Director Soraya Sarwary described it as immersive storytelling, using 360-degree sights, surround sound, and motion pods. “The way that I best describe it is it feels as if you’re standing in a location, rather than just watching it.
Giving you the freedom to basically look wherever you want and get a good feel.”
It did not replace travel, but it gave people an immersive preview to help them decide where they’d like to visit, she said. It can also make travel more accessible to those who could not hop on a plane. “I don’t think anything would be able to replace that experience, so as detailed as we can go into giving people as much of a taste. You can’t get a suntan from this technology.”
Air New Zealand is working with digital bag tags where people can link their luggage to their phones, cutting out the paper printouts and kiosks for check-in.
Chief executive Greg Foran said it had acquired plenty of new technology – both on the drawing board or already here. “Imagine a flight where virtual reality can change your perception of time, offering mindfulness, meditation and ambient lighting to aid sleep.
“Picture yourself playing a cabin-wide game and watching a movie alongside your family while they’re still at home on the couch. Virtual wine tastings set against stunning New Zealand backdrops.”
The airline is keeping an eye on supersonic and hypersonic travel, which is five times the speed of sound.
In the shorter term – about three years away – its first commercial electric plane is expected to take flight. “We’re investigating the role of drones as it may pertain to Air New Zealand and our role in connecting people, and then also single-seater electric planes that require no licence – other than a few hours’ training – but can replace short-distance car travel.”
