Introducing our newest member to the Heron Hill Team: Assistant Winemaker Will Kerner!
Will Kerner comes from a family with roots in Hollywood. His family then moved to wine production and planted their vineyard in1996 in Marlborough, New Zealand. After working vintages around the world and in technical roles in both the vineyard and winery, Will jumped into research, accepting a Research Program Manager position for New Zealand Winegrowers at the Bragato Research Institute where his master’s thesis had become a 7 million NZD program in need of stewardship. In addition to the Vineyard Ecosystems Program, Will managed the ag-tech, vine pathology, soil science, organic, and regenerative research projects while chairing national technical viticulture committees on pest resistance management and best agrochemical practice. Will always wanted to be a winemaker and now has the chance to continue this path with Heron Hill, and he loves being back stateside as his family sold the estate in 2014 and moved mack to the US. He has a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of Colorado and a master’s degree in Wine Science from the University of Auckland. Whenever not thinking about making or enjoying wine and the science of wine, Will can be found on a mountain bike or hiking with his wife Nadia, enjoying all the splendor that nature has to offer in the Finger Lakes Region.
