Matua Valley Wines Expand West Auckland Operation

October 27, 2004

Matua Valley Wines Expand West Auckland Operation

Matua Valley Wines today (October 28, 2004) announced the official opening of a $2 million warehouse at its Waimauku home in West Auckland – the latest step in a growth programme that will see the family operated winery continue to compete with major domestic and international players.

The opening of the new facility coincides with the winery’s celebrations of Sauvignon Blanc’s 30th anniversary in New Zealand. Brothers Bill and Ross Spence introduced Sauvignon Blanc to New Zealand, planting the first commercial grapes and producing the first vintage in 1974.

“The opening of this new, custom-built warehouse marks a coming of age of sorts for Matua Valley Wines. The grape we introduced thirty years ago has become incredibly popular – with demand for New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, both here and abroad, continuing to grow. We’re proud to combine leading edge technologies and resources with our heritage of producing top-quality wines,” said Matua founders and Ross and Bill Spence.

The growth programme – which the new Warehouse marks the latest milestone of – began about four years ago and has involved investments in the Wairarapa, Hawkes Bay and Marlborough. Recently initiatives such as the purchase of Ponder Estate (now Matua Marlborough) and a lease agreement on 170 hectares at Northbank in Marlborough have allowed Matua to continue to deliver great quality wine to the domestic market while producing enough top quality product to begin growing new overseas markets.

The Spence brothers say as well as continuing to focus on traditional international markets such as the US, Australia and the UK, Matua Valley Wines is committed to developing new markets in Asia, Canada and Central Europe.

“The expansion of, and recent capital investment in, Matua Valley Wines will help us continue to bring New Zealand wine to the fore overseas without sacrificing any of our quality or turning our backs on the heritage that has made Matua so popular with New Zealanders for the past thirty years.”

ENDS

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