Winepress - April 2023

Urban Winery

Whānau at the heart of new development

SOPHIE PREECE

RANGITĀNE AND boutique wine company Astrolabe are working together to deliver an urban winery on the banks of the Ōpaoa and Taylor Rivers in Blenheim.

A whatu mauri was held in late March at the riverside site at the end of Horton Street, which was purchased by Rangitāne through its Treaty Settlement process. Rangitāne Kaiwhakahaere Matua (general manager) Corey Hebberd says the development will enable Astrolabe to house winery operations and “a unique hospitality offering in Marlborough”, while unlocking the potential of Rangitāne’s commercial asset base. “This development forges a new, longterm partnership between Rangitāne and Astrolabe.”

Simon Waghorn, founder, owner and winemaker at Astrolabe, says the winery development – to be completed in time for vintage 2024 – is the beginning of a new era. “It is the most magic site to do an urban winery I think we could possibly envisage in Blenheim,” he said at the laying of the mauri, explaining that while the company’s machine harvested Sauvignon Blanc will remain at a large contract facility, all Astrolabe’s artisanal wines will be made at the urban winery. “All our little gems; our little babies. Anything that goes in a barrel will be made here.”

The development, a stone’s throw from Blenheim’s new library complex on the other side of the Taylor River, will also be home to Astrolabe’s office and cellar door, with a food offering on site, as well as occasional events with visiting food trucks. “We want to make this a vibrant hub for Marlborough and we want to showcase all that is good about the Marlborough wine industry,” says Simon. The urban winery will also be a space for hands-on succession, with the winemaker passing his knowledge on to the next generation, and perhaps the generation after that, with a gaggle of grandchildren at the dawn ceremony.

“We think Marlborough is the heart of the New Zealand wine industry and we think the wine industry, to a large degree, is the heart of the economy of Marlborough,” says Simon. “It seems very fitting, we think, to have a winemaking presence as close to the downtown as we possibly could get it.”

For Rangitāne, the development is part of a strategy of investing within its rohe, says Corey. “Ensuring a long term, sustainable presence for Rangitāne within Marlborough’s growing economy, while supporting the iwi Trust to provide a wide range of whānau services, further strengthening the culture, identity and mana of Rangitāne.”

Astrolabe general manager Libby Waghorn Levett says, “as a multigenerational business, owned and operated here in Marlborough, we’re thrilled to be investing in the Blenheim town centre as a real hub for the arts, and artisanal food and beverage production. We’re so glad to be working with Rangitāne and their long-term vision and commitment to our region.”