Brent Marris was a high flyer from an early age, Fosbury flopping his way to New Zealand representation in his teens. Having left the athletics field long ago, his fields are now filled with more than 1.6 million vines to supply his winery at the heart of the country’s wine industry in Marlborough.
The oft-cited phrase ‘to make a small fortune in wine you have to start with a large one’ is all too common, but Marris is one of the rare exceptions, starting with a small fortune and making a large one (estimated at NZ$80 million in the 2011 New Zealand Rich List).
Perhaps the reason for his success is that Marris has genuine business acumen. He was the first Marlborough-born winemaker to gain a degree at Adelaide’s Roseworthy University and is a sales and marketing machine. He is also good at it, which means some people don’t like him much. while New Zealand champions the virtues of hard work and self reliance, which Marris has in abundance, tall poppy syndrome is an everyday part of life here. The bright stars that stand tall on an otherwise level playing field are resented.
