New Zealand’s first official wine centre open to the public

Te Waiharakeke - The New Zealand Wine Centre–Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa has opened in Blenheim, following $3.79 million for the Marlborough Research Centre to build a national wine centre was announced in 2020, from the government’s Provincial Growth Fund.

Aotearoa viticulture and winemaking industries continue to grow economically and are now one of the country’s biggest export earners.

Bringing in nearly $2 billion a year, wine exports continue to grow as new free trade agreements with the UK and EU come into force, providing even greater economic security to New Zealanders.

The New Zealand Wine Centre will help Kiwi wine producers stay ahead of global trends in wine by developing new products and helping to tackle issues such as the impact of climate change on the sector.

The winemaking sector has a huge impact on the national and regional economy and accounts for one in five jobs in the Marlborough region.

The Marlborough regional workforce plan projects a job growth of 17 percent for the wine industry, and the Wine Centre will support the development of specialist skills needed for new high-skilled jobs.

A total of $770,000 from the existing $3.79 million investment will go into the construction and development of a new state-of-the-art experimental future vineyard.

The experimental vineyard is a system where vineyards can be studied to support sustainable growth and profitability of the New Zealand wine industry.

It provides a temperature-controlled environment to allow grape plantings to be tested at varying temperatures, including those which will survive and thrive in our changing climate.

It will make use of automation and robotics technologies to help prepare the wine industry for a digital future.

The Wine Centre and the experimental future vineyard confirm Marlborough’s place as the preeminent location for research and innovation for New Zealand’s wine industry, attracting local and international talent.

The centre is part of the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology’s Blenheim’s campus and Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa also involves New Zealand Wine’s Bragato Research Institute, the Plant and Food Wine and Grape Research Group, New Zealand Wine's Sustainability and Biosecurity Group.

It provides integrated facilities for these organisations to work with wine industry innovators and wine researchers from New Zealand and abroad.