12/06/2026
A word from Nick...
Shannon Foley: so much to say, so much said and so much that can never be conveyed. What a legend, what a time - 19 years! Shanski came to Rippon when I was still working things out after coming home; I guess it was the start of a new chapter. She helped me, and Rippon, not only work out what that chapter was about but how to navigate it and navigate she did, through the known and the unknowns that came our way. I’ll miss her companionship, the complete joy of working alongside her - sometimes it feels like two bodies with the same brain. I’ll miss her ease and sense of humour, the depth of knowledge she has amassed. There’s also the innate understanding of people’s need which I think is her superpower, and that extends well beyond the working day.
Today we say goodbye to Shanski as her next chapter begins in Dunedin and we're incredibly excited and stoked for her. The same can be said for how I feel about Rippon - excited and stoked. I don't know if this is the start of a new chapter or whether that started a while ago; maybe we're not really about chapters at all and it's just about the future and what comes next. Either way, things feels good.
Fair winds and following seas, Shannon, and thank you!
Image: Shan & Grace, a parcel of newly re-plant Rippon Pinot Noir. Massale-selected from Rippon’s oldest vines by Shannon and planted by her team last winter. Formally F-Block, now named after Shannon and her late vineyard dog…Shan & Grace: not possessive, no apostrophe s’s, just two words that mean a huge amount to us, put together in perpetuity.
