New winery future-proofs Rockburn Wines in Central Otago

New winery future-proofs Rockburn Wines in Central Otago

After leasing premises at the industrial McNulty Road site for 10 years, the team at Rockburn Wines recently completed their first vintage at their new winery in Ripponvale Road, Cromwell.

The award-winning producer acquired the existing winery site in September last year to meet increasing demand and future-proof its operation.

“Due to rapid growth and remarkable popularity of our wines, we were forced to outsource some processes in previous years due to capacity shortfalls. We’re very pleased to bring everything back under one roof from this vintage onwards. The old McNulty Road winery was getting near breaking point and we’re thrilled to have found a site at Ripponvale Road that sets us up for further growth,” says Paul Donaghy, General Manager of Rockburn Wines.

Rockburn experienced exceptional demand for their range of premium wines in recent years, especially in their key export market Australia.

After an extensive re-fit and upgrade of the winery, winemaker Malcolm Francis-Rees successfully managed the transition to the Ripponvale Road site within a four-week window prior to the 2016 harvest getting underway. It was worth the effort as the new premises provide sufficient room for new equipment allowing Malcolm to complete Rockburn’s largest ever vintage under one roof.

The new semi-rural site comes with stunning-views of the rugged Central Otago landscape and a hectare of land to allow further expansion in the future.

Rockburn’s Cellar Door remains at McNulty Road and is open 7 days between 11am-4pm.

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