“Najib Assid Corban was born in 1909, the youngest son in a family of ten children. He was raised in a family of New Zealand wine industry pioneers as a vigneron—a vineyard worker.
His sight began failing when at the age of fifteen he found he could no longer see to read and the rest gradually disappeared over his lifetime. Loss of sight however did not stop a full life, nor hard work. Najib worked at Corbans Wines, after leaving school at the age of twelve, until his 73rd birthday, he continued to be physically active and work outdoors well into his 90s. A series of magnums were made to mark his 100th year. The packaging was designed to have a tactile quality, like his tools—the box was made of rough sawn timber and branded with his signature. Each bottle was dipped in blackboard paint, sealed with wax then hand numbered with chalk in an limited edition of 100.”
