Invivo & Co wines has secured significant leases in Marlborough and Hawkes Bay, expanding grape tonnage volumes by 153 per cent for the 2022 vintage.
The leases have been agreed with ‘premium well-established growers who are keen to work with Invivo,’ while the volume increase has been accompanied by investment in equipment at the Invivo winery, which now has the capacity to produce over 2.5m litres of wine annually.
Total 2022 grape tonnage for Invivo is now approaching 6,000 worldwide, with 4,000 tonnes supplied by the winery’s New Zealand holdings. Increases occurred for all grape varieties grown by the winery, with Sauvignon Blanc continuing to provide the greatest portion, at 40 per cent of total tonnage.
The news comes after New Zealand wineries announced a bumper vintage for 2022, which should go some way to restoring stocks after a small yield the previous year.
Invivo Co-Founder Rob Cameron provided comment on the recent harvest.
“The 2022 harvest was initially looking to be quite a challenging one due to an unseasonably wet February and March. The rain forced our hand in Hawkes Bay and some early Marlborough blocks but our Awatere Vineyards withstood the wet extremely well and pushed through towards the end of the season to finally experience some settled, dry weather.”
“The resulting wines are looking fantastic with lots of intense flavour and aroma,” Cameron said.
Rachael Everitt, Invivo’s Global Marketing Manager, contextualised the land occupancy growth within the company’s global operations.
“Invivo’s exports are increasing and Invivo has been able to increase supply for 2022, whilst balancing demand,” Everitt said.
“Invivo’s footprint around the world is continuing to grow rapidly, with eight new markets coming on board over the past year. Invivo produced wines are now available in 37 countries.
“Invivo recently partnered with AVL in Australia to produce and launch the new Sevenly range with Sarah Jessica Parker, that sits at 7 per cent alcohol. The range is currently available in Australia at Coles and will be available in New Zealand and other countries later in 2022.”
This move is the latest in a series of expansions from the Invivo company, which took over the Te Kauwhata site in 2016, increasing its production capabilities considerably from an initial capacity of just 150,000 litres.
The winery itself was founded by the Kiwi government in 1902, to establish if wine could be produced in the nation. 2022 marks its 120th anniversary.