New Zealand screwcap pioneer dies

New Zealand winemaker Ross Lawson, founder of Lawson's Dry Hills, has died aged 66.

Lawson was widely respected not just for his Marlborough wines but for his pioneering work with New Zealand's Screwcap Initiative.

In 2001 Lawson claimed his winery was the first anywhere in the world to bottle its entire production under screwcap. He was an instigator of the New Zealand wine industry's move away from cork closures, with the result that 90% of the country's wineries now favour screwcaps.

Together with wife Barbara, Lawson founded Lawson's Dry Hills in 1992 having previously been a grower of Gewurztraminer grapes for other wineries.

He described himself as having been "a man of many parts" during his working life, with jobs including a sheep-shearer, building contractor, swimming pool builder, opossum hunter, union organiser, and viticulturist.

Tributes have been paid to the "good humoured" and "down to earth" entrepreneur, who had been suffering from cancer.

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