Media Release 16 October 2009

Cave Tours to Benefit Tsunami Appeal

Gibbston Valley Wines will donate all proceeds from its Wine Cave Tours over Labour Weekend to the Samoan Tsunami Relief Fund. On Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October visitors to the winery will be able to enjoy a 30 minute tour of the winery, vineyard, and wine cave in exchange for a gold coin donation to the Tsunami Appeal.

“This will give members of the Wakatipu community and visitors to the area an opportunity to contribute to the Tsunami Relief Fund while enjoying a guided tour of our winery and New Zealand’s largest underground wine cave” said Ian Mill, Director of Marketing for Gibbston Valley Wines.

The wine cave was purpose built in 1995 as a maturation facility for the company’s barrels of pinot noir wine. A total of almost 400 barrels of pinot noir from the 2009 harvest are currently stored in the cave which extends 60 metres in to the hillside behind the Gibbston Valley winery. The wine cave provides the perfect environment for maturing pinot noir in barrels with its constant natural temperature of 14 degrees and humidity of almost 70%. After fermentation is completed in stainless steel tanks, pinot noir typically spends around 10 months in French oak barrels before being bottled.

Around 30,000 people take part in wine cave tours each year, learning about the history and the success of winemaking in Central Otago, visiting the vineyard, learning about the winemaking process, and enjoying a tasting of 3 wines in the cave.

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