John Follas at home. Lucy Follas

John Follas was literally a giant of the New Zealand wine world—with his towering stature and rugby-playing build—but he was not widely known to the general public despite all of his contributions to the industry.

Born in Wellington on 11 September 1957, John studied in Auckland before moving back to Wellington. He worked as a train driver before entering the wine business, first at Tasman Liquor, then at Bond Street Liquor. When I first arrived in Wellington in 2001, he was working for Peter Rumble at Rumbles Wine Merchants, a Wellington wine institution which ran from 1984 to 2012.

He was in charge of fine wine at the shop and had a glass-box office surrounded by stacks of wine review periodicals and overflowing shelves of burgundy. During lunch breaks from the nearby Victoria School of Law, I would descend into the basement wine shop and harangue John with wine questions, all of which he answered with incredible generosity of knowledge and time.

John introduced me to the writings of the late Clive Coates MW who would inspire me to pursue the path I now tread; for many others it was Jancis Robinson MW who sparked the flame, but for me, it was Clive’s writing on burgundy. John also patiently explained (over many months) the intricacies of Burgundy’s patchwork vineyards, its pantheon of producers and the pendulum of its vintages. He helped me start my burgundy collection with a smattering of 1996s and subsequently 1999s. John was also one of the early voices cautioning against the blind rush for Parker points which was then spreading through the Rhône, Piedmont, Tuscany and Rioja.

At the same time, he was running The Wine Safe (or WineSafe as it was known then), one of the earliest, if not THE earliest professional fine wine storage business in Aotearoa. John and a group of self-professed ‘wine nuts’ started it in 1990 and it continues to run today. In late 2002, John started importing wine himself under the name Truffle Imports, a business he jointly owned with his life partner of 44 years, Lucy Hill (The Wine Safe is also jointly owned by them). Truffle had a showroom, deli and wine shop on College Street before it moved to its current location with The Wine Safe on Garret Street. It is an absolute treasure trove of fine wine with beautifully aged bottles of classics in addition to the star-studded cast of producers imported by John.

He was an early champion of grower Champagne and has imported several of the great names over the years: Egly-Ouriet, Larmandier-Bernier (both now with another importer), Marie Courtin, Agrapart, Cedric Bouchard, Jérôme Prévost, Aubry, Vilmart, Marc Hebrart and more.

Fine sherry was also a passion, introducing New Zealand to the excellent Equipo Navazos wines, including bringing over Jésus Barquín to Wellington for a special sherry dinner in 2014. Aromatic whites were another speciality of his, importing Zind-Humbrecht, Markus Molitor, Eva Fricke, F.X. Pichler and Alzinger.

Although pricing of the Côte d’Or eventually led him away from importing expensive burgundy, he found fantastic wines from both the north and the south, representing Alice & Olivier de Moor and Patrick Piuze, as well as Jean Paul Thévenet, Maxime Cottenceau and Jules Desjourney.

Throughout the decades, John held masterclasses (including a few at my own venue, Wine Sentience) and dinners, generously showcasing these fine wines. He developed strong, lasting personal relationships with his clients and fellow wine lovers. The landscape of wine and hospitality in New Zealand would be rather different without all of his work and tireless passion for it. He also had a famously dry and sarcastic wit, holding no punches with his opinions and calling out bad practices when he saw them. He feared no one in the world of wine and openly said so to those who would listen (including myself).

John battled cancer for several years, having good days and bad days, before finally succumbing to the dreaded disease on Thursday night 16th October, holding Lucy’s hand. On Tuesday afternoon 21st October, friends, family and wine industry filled the room for his funeral as the unexpected soundtrack of INXS and Led Zeppelin played.

He leaves behind a world made better for his devotion and contributions, several generations of sommeliers and wine professionals who have learned from his deep insight into fine wine, critical thinkers who listened to his dissections of the wine industry and wine criticism, and a huge hole in the heart of New Zealand’s wine community. A true giant of a man, who will be deeply missed.

Thank you for all of the wit, wisdom and wine, John.