When I ask David Nash to tell me about his new venture, The College Hill Wine Room by David Nash, he sums it up in one sentence, “The College Hill Wine Room is a wine (and spirit) lover’s home away from home. One that happens to come with a private dining room, a Michelin-starred chef in Ryan Moore, and boasts some of New Zealand’s most experienced wine professionals.”
For those unfamiliar with Nash’s work, he is one of New Zealand’s most experienced and trusted wine professionals and one of the country’s foremost wine personalities. From co-founding Helio, The Malborist, and Alpine Rift wines, and the Bluff Distillery, to writing and directing acclaimed NZ wine story film A Seat at the Table, Nash’s career has been vast and varied, with no shortage of success. Now, he’s turning his hand to a space of his own in The College Hill Wine Room by David Nash — an innovative new venue set to elevate and re-shape the way Aucklanders enjoy wine.
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Set across above ground and subterranean spaces in the heart of Freemans Bay, the venue combines a vibrant wine bar with over 350 expertly curated drops (available to sip by the glass in the bar or on the sundeck, or take home to enjoy with a meal), a luxurious private dining room with a private, dedicated chef in The College Hill Wine Room part-owner, Ryan Moore, and expert staff (some of the top talent in the country across food and beverage), exclusive cellars with personalised cellar management and a concierge, and a fine wine retail space that celebrates both local and global producers. With Wine Director Joe Costello shaping the beverage program, those visiting can expect an unmatched level of care and detail — his expertise combining with Nash’s to create a hub for connoisseurs and casual enthusiasts alike.
Complementing the wine offerings is Executive Chef Ryan Moore, whose Michelin-starred pedigree shines through in his menu of European-inspired share plates. From duck liver profiteroles to crayfish crumpets, the menu raises the bar when it comes to pairing bold flavours with exquisite wines. The ‘by the glass’ food selection ensures that every sip finds its perfect match.
The space itself is a masterclass in contemporary design, created in partnership with the experts at Space Studio. Featuring a sun-drenched deck, subterranean cellars, and beautifully crafted private dining rooms, The College Hill Wine Room marries luxury and functionality. Furniture by Woodwrights and custom pieces by Seear-Budd Ross only enhance the refined yet inviting ambiance.
Below ground, the venue houses New Zealand’s premier subterranean wine storage vaults. Built and managed in collaboration with Storage King, they provide seasoned wine collectors, or those with a bourgeoning investment interest, state-of-the-art cellar options of varying sizes, all expertly managed by The College Hill Wine Room Concierge. “We’re for both seasoned collectors and the curious,” says Nash.
The College Hill Wine Room by David Nash isn’t just a venue — it’s a destination. Here, we chat with the wine expert about his career to date, his aspirations for the future of wine in New Zealand, and the most exceptional wine-related experience of his life.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
My journey to date has been an organic one; I’ve had two principles that have guided everything: ‘do great work and the money will come,’ and ‘work with interesting people doing interesting things’. It’s led to a pretty fascinating life — I’ve been a creative director for a global ad network, screenwriter and film director for a multi-award-winning feature-length documentary film, wine director at New Zealand’s most awarded hotel, co-founded a handful of brands and businesses and had a massive amount of fun along the way.
My first ‘job’ in wine was as a passionate consumer. I got the wine bug while living and working in London; I was working for the Saatchi brothers and was taken to a few fancy Soho lunches (this was pre-GFC), listening to the incredible wine staff tell stories about families from Rioja, Rheingau, Burgundy and Bordeaux — I was hooked. And then you could jump on EasyJet for forty quid and visit. I guess my first job was as a researcher for a job I didn’t know existed yet.
I didn’t come from a wine family or even a family that drank wine; beer and spirits are all my early alcohol-related memories. I do recall, rather controversially, taking a few bottles of Riesling to a house party in my early 20s, where everyone else had boxes of beer or vodka cruisers. So, I always had a preference for wine, I just didn’t understand it.
I started studying wine with the Wine & Spirit Education Trust of London, when I knew I wanted to work in wine, but just didn’t know how. Returning to New Zealand to an advertising role, one of the first briefs to come through the agency was the re-brand of Montana Wines to Brancott Estate. That was an epiphany moment — I could see my way into a life of wine.
When beginning my career, I set out to make a positive impact on the New Zealand wine industry — here and around the world. To give the great producers a stage to tell their story, share their love and drive to craft something really special on the edge of the world. After working on a few big wine brands, in particular Penfolds in South Australia, I turned to my focus to uncovering great New Zealand wine stories. That led to a five-year journey of writing, directing, funding and producing ‘A Seat at the Table’, a film that charts New Zealand’s rise and rise in the world of wine. After opening as one of the headline films at the New Zealand International Film Festival, it toured Vancouver, Edinburgh and New Port Beach Film Festivals along with many others before Samuel Goldwyn of MGM fame acquired the rights to the film, which you can now watch on almost every platform in almost every country in the world. I still get a ‘cheque in the mail’ every few months. That really set in motion the next chapter of my career uncovering and sharing great wine stories, on film or in person at great fun wine tastings and events.
The people are what I love most about my work. I get to travel a lot with my work, and the people you meet are the most infectious part. No one really works in wine because they need a job, they work in wine because it’s their life’s work. That creates some fascinating personalities; winemakers and viticulturists spend a huge amount of time in isolation as well and are, for the most part, incredibly big thinkers, intelligent and open-minded — which makes for a great group of people to share a few glasses of wine with.
Of all the places I’ve travelled and worked, a visit to Marlborough was the most exceptional wine-related experience of my life. I had just got back from touring all around France. One of the places we’d been to, in a little town called Chavignol, was a place called Henri Bourgeois. The Bourgeois family also have a domaine in Marlborough called Clos Heri. As a Kiwi, visiting the property in Sancerre before Marlborough was a fairly surreal experience. Damian Yvon, the estate manager and winemaker in Marlborough, is from Loire Valley; we sat in the Cellar Door on the Marlborough vineyard (which is an old church), drinking his wines, talking about France, eating homemade terrine and French cheeses. The sun was going down, it was an absolute moment.
I think while the wine world is grappling with a lot of issues, New Zealand just gets better and better. New Zealand’s fine wine story is probably the most exciting storyline, and it’s been playing out for about five years now. We have producers like Kumeu River, Felton Road, Ata Rangi…the list goes on, that are only just now (40 years on) coming of age, being held up by some serious critics as the very best wines in the world. Not just as good as, but the best. Fast forward another five years, and that’s a pretty exciting future.
In terms of the world of wine sometimes being viewed as esoteric and inaccessible, I think any industry with some perceived specialist skill set or ‘natural gift’ required to be involved has that stigma. I meet so many people who tell me they know nothing about wine, then proceed to tell me a huge amount about wine. The wine world is probably the most accessible in terms of collective knowledge — from critics sharing reviews online to hundreds of publications, and any winemaker anywhere in the world will talk your ear off about the world of wine if you ask. Or pop into your local wine bar and start learning, one glass at a time. It’s a fun university to be a part of.
When it comes to my aspirations for the future of wine, it’s a big question. Certainly, for New Zealand wine, it would be to value and protect our product. Our wines, in some cases, are as good if not better than many of the Old World wines, and are half or a quarter of the price. Value in the wine world is like the art market — quality, scarcity, and authenticity drive prices up. All the best vineyard sites are planted in New Zealand; those vines are coming of age, and the winemaker experience is there — now, we need to market ourselves, believe in ourselves and show the world we make some of the very best premium wines, as well as Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.
I think Wine Tourism is still largely untapped in potential in New Zealand; and developing a few
ideas in that space to raise the bar would be a significant next phase now we have the world coming back. Also, getting back out with our story to the world is high on my priorities list. I previously held a wine tasting in the Bellagio in Las Vegas for 120 people, and they all left booking flights to New Zealand. It’ll be great having a tourism body with the resources it needs to showcase really our beautiful part of the world.
I think I already have my dream job. I have an incredible team and amazing clients, all of whom are great friends, and I get to work all over the country — from creating brands to making wine to distilling gin and hosting people who want to learn more. Bringing that all together in The College Hill Wine Room really is the culmination of everything we’ve done to date, and I can’t wait to see how it plays out.
Opening Hours:
The Wine Room Shop: Monday — Sunday, 11am until 9pm
The Wine Room Bar & Sundeck: Wednesday — Sunday, 11am until late
The Private Dining Room & Event Spaces: Monday — Sunday
The Wine Room Cellars: Private, secure 24-7 keypad access
The College Hill Wine Room by David Nash
43 College Hill
Freemans Bay
Auckland
