Research Winery set to benefit NZ's wine industry

Bragato Research Institute (BRI) has announced its national Research Winery will be built at the Marlborough Research Centre on the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT) Marlborough campus in Blenheim.

With wine industry exports valued at $1.8bn, BRI’s activities will support the ongoing sustainable growth of the New Zealand wine industry through research and innovation.

The facility will have capacity for over 100 research fermenters, which will enable more of the industry’s research trials to extend to look at possible impacts on finished wines. The Research Winery will trial winery equipment and technologies, winemaking processes, and sustainable winemaking and winery operations. It will also provide commercial research winemaking services to suppliers and industry.

The Research Winery will enable the NZ wine industry to take research trials through to finished wines under tightly managed experimental conditions.

“We’re delighted to be able to announce our location at the Marlborough Research Centre on the NMIT campus alongside Plant and Food Research, New Zealand Winegrowers and Wine Marlborough.” said MJ Loza, CEO of Bragato Research Institute.

The Research Winery will be built as part of a larger development including labs and office space. Construction is expected to commence within the next month, with the goal of having the winery operational for vintage 2020.

“This would not have been possible without the support and funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) under the Regional Research Institutes initiative, which BRI and the industry is extremely grateful for,” said Loza. “Marlborough District Council’s support and funding was an important element in our securing the MBIE funding in the first place, and their ongoing support reflects and enables the benefits BRI will deliver to the region. The funding is delivering additional research capability for the industry and an important piece of research infrastructure, aligned with industry needs.”

Though based in Marlborough, BRI will provide science, research and development to benefit New Zealand’s entire wine industry and its key stakeholders.

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