Claire Iredale

Wanaka 2017 CUBE Scholarship winner Claire Iredale is setting a precedent for pure, ethical and sustainable spirits with the first public release of her Wild Diamond Gin and Vodka next week.

The Wanaka naturopath and herbalist has a craft micro-distillery manufacturing botanical spirits made from glacial water and foraged organic botanicals.

Since winning the $2,000 scholarship in October last year - a package provided by Chorus and supported by the Cube and Ignite Wanaka Chamber to help encourage entrepreneurial spirit - the distillery has forged ahead with setup through to manufacturing and is now starting distribution.

Wild Diamond has a philosophy of connecting people with plants, and a business ethic of sustainability. Claire believes the story behind her product will help educate people about the importance of our region’s biodiversity.

"We are readily losing places in Wanaka, and across the world where pure, non-chemical affected, nature grown plants can be accessed freely,” Claire said. "We need to realise the importance of our biodiversity, the purity of our land, before it is all changed into something we cannot get back.”

CUBE Business Development Manager Jason Watkins said he enjoyed watching Claire reach the public release stage with help from the scholarship and additional provided resources.

"It was great to see Claire and Wild Diamond carrying on the momentum from last year and taking product to market, which was very exciting” he said. "It was also heartening to see Claire engage with local mentoring and take advantage of the broad range of support provided by the scholarship package."

Jason said another Entrepreneur Scholarship by the CUBE and Ignite Wanaka had been created and the winner would be announced shortly. 

Claire has time and effort into the set up of her distillery and sustainable business practice, opting for only renewable energy to power her production, bottles chosen for their lighter impact on shipping fuel consumption, glass closures to minimise plastic use, and recycled packaging. She also has a focus on minimal waste production: since manufacturing began in January, less than 50 litres of non-recyclable/non-reusable waste have been produced from the distillery..

Claire said everything is harvested "mindfully and by hand” to ensure the best flowers, berries, leaves and stems are harvested at the right time and contain the best flavors and characteristics. The aim is to keep the impact on the region and the planet as minimal as possible, she said.

Cork Bar will host a public tasting event at Queens Birthday weekend.

PHOTO: Supplied