Thursday October 3rd saw the research winery construction team get together for a project meeting.  The BRI Research Winery construction team are all based in the Marlborough-Tasman region. Tracy Benge, who has been leading this project for the last 2 years, said it was important to use local resources wherever possible. “We were established under MBIE’s Regional Research Institute (RRI) initiative, with a core goal of growing the region. Therefore, an important part of our strategy for this build was using local people and materials wherever possible, supporting local businesses. This extends to the fit-out of the winery and the tank fabrication”. 

Research winery construction team onsite (from left to right): Chris Goodyer & Mark Unwin (iGenerate solar); John Tovey & Neil Phillips (Scott Construction); Tracy Benge (Bragato Research Institute); Simon Hall (JTB Architects); Bill Arnold (Electra-tech electricians); Pete Mann (ProMann Consulting); Steve Brooke-Taylor (Hydramech plumbing and piping). 

The world-first research fermentation tanks are being manufactured in Marlborough by Crown Sheetmetal, Renwick-based VinWizard are providing the fermentation control technology, and the students in the NMIT carpentry unit are creating upcycled furniture. More on that soon…