wineinsights

Wineinsights is dedicated to enriching your wine knowledge and experience. Our services cater to wine lovers & enthusiasts who seek to delve deeper into the world of wine.
I’m John Penney, your learning facilitator, host, and consultant. My passion for wine was ignited in wine service experience at the Wellington Club during my university days, nurtured through extensive NZ & international wine travel & developed through completion of formal wine studies including WSET Level 3 with Distinction. I live in the beautiful New Zealand wine district of Martinborough, renowned for the quality of its Pinot Noir. Here I have an extensive wine cellar and regularly host wine-tasting events for local industry experts and enthusiasts. I am also the cellarmaster for the Martinborough Wine & Food Society.
I support your interest in and learning about wine in four ways.
First, I provide custom wine tours, mainly in the Martinborough or Wairarapa wine regions of New Zealand (but I can provide custom tours anywhere in NZ).
I’m not a general tour guide. I’m not going to take you to the Lighthouse, the Pinnacles, or to taste olive oil. I’m a qualified wine specialist. With me, you won’t be in a bus, you’ll be in your own small group of up to 4 people, perhaps you and your partner with another individual or couple with the same tour objectives. I’ll clarify those objectives with you and put together an itinerary focused on the wines you want to explore. You’ll get to taste flagship wines, learn about the winemaker’s philosophy, and have your questions answered by a knowledgeable expert. I’m your guide to an elevated wine experience!
Second, I provide wine education workshops for wine enthusiasts, and wine service staff, particularly those working at a cellar door. My workshops draw on my winemaking knowledge and long experience in adult education to ensure your effective and engaging learning, embedding useful theory with practical tasting experience.
Third, I run custom-designed, wine-themed events for your corporate or social group event, which can combine learning about wine, fun competition or teambuilding activity.
And fourth I provide wine consulting services – for example, advice on how to establish a wine cellar and build a wine collection, or support to new restaurants who don’t have a sommelier and need help to establish their wine list.