8 | Winery doubles capacity The Kendrick Rd winery was purpose built to process large volumes of Sauvignon Blanc, quickly and efficiently on behalf of their clients. T T from page 6 REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Tasman: New Zealand Wineries • Heat Pumps • System Design • Plant Audits • 24 Hour Service • Preventative Maintenance • Equipment Supply • Air Conditioning • Coolrooms & Freezers • Industrial & Winery Refrigeration ACTIVE REFRIGERATION MARLBOROUGH LTD 37 Kinross Street, Blenheim PHONE: (03) 577 7345 | 3/27 Packham Crescent, Stoke PHONE 035449139 FOR REFRIGERATION & AIR CONDITIONING EMAIL: info@activerefrig.co.nz WEB: www.activerefrigeration.co.nz BRANCHES NATIONWIDE “A lot of what we do goes to the UK for bottling and to a lesser extent the US and Australia. It is often sold as the buyers own brand, for example large supermarket chains will buy in bulk for their own brands.” The Kendrick Rd winery, sited behind the company’s other winery on Liverpool St (capacity 16,000 tonnes), was purpose built to process large volumes of Sauvignon Blanc, quickly and efficiently on behalf of their clients. It has also been engineered and designed to a high level of seismic resilience. Compared to older wineries, an automated modern winery like this consumes very little energy and is extremely cost effective to run. “It is very innovative in terms of energy recovery and energy reduction,” observes Steve Ginders, New Zealand Wineries Maintenance Manager. “I’ve been here four years and, in that time, I’ve seen big improvements in electricity usage and gas usage required to produce wine. A big driver here is to be as efficient as possible because it’s a win for the environment and reduces operational costs too.” Beyond 2024, New Zealand Wineries plans further expansion to lift processing capacity to around 34,000 tonnes. Adding to their capabilities, New Zealand Wineries leases a winery in Waipara that processes around 1500 tonnes a year. Marlborough is New Zealand’s largest wine region, home to more than 160 wineries with New Zealand Wineries one of the larger winery operations in the region. As New Zealand Winegrowers observed in their 2023 annual report, grape growers and wineries are currently looking to the future with renewed certainty and confidence. New Zealand’s wine exports surged to new record levels in 2023, lifting 23% in value to $2.4 billion. Consumer demand for New Zealand wine, particularly Sauvignon Blanc, is strong in key markets such as the US, UK and Australia. New Zealand Wineries is very much moving in step with buoyant demand for tailored winemaking services. “We think there is still a shortage of processing capacity in Marlborough, so we will continue expanding at Kendrick Rd over the next couple of years,” says Alistair. “We’d like to put in more tanks as we get more grapes coming in the door.” Looking ahead to vintage 2024, Alistair says that they have had no difficulty finding the staff needed for the annual harvest. “We have been inundated with requests for employment – there is no shortage of people looking for work.”
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