By Amy Looker
One of the Riverina's key wine producers flicked the switch on its new bottling line this morning, which is soon to be followed by the launch of another new bottling operation in the New South Wales Central Ranges.
Beelgara Estate has turned on its new state-of-the-art Bertolaso bottling plant (pictured), with a capacity of bottling 6000 bottles per hour, which the company will use for its own range of wines, as well as being able to offer contract bottling facilities to other wineries both in and out of the Riverina region.
"Given its central location, Beelgara is an ideal distribution hub, with an equal distance between Sydney and Melbourne and a straight line to Brisbane," Beelgara’s managing director Peter Toohey told TheShout.
"We also offer container loading and with our local road and rail links we are well-placed to service the export market to the world."
Beelgara Estate already operates two bottling lines, but its latest addition is part of its long-term strategy to be at the forefront of technology in the wine industry and cover all aspects of winemaking and packing under one roof, according to Toohey.
"The new bottling line is one of three we currently operate, and it is a state-of-the-art, fully integrated Bertolaso bottling plant sourced from Italy," Toohey told TheShout.
"Technicians were flown out from Italy to install the line which has a 6000 bottles per hour production capacity. This upgrade in technology puts us on a level footing with other wineries to maintain our success – in this industry you need to be on an equal technological footing to remain competitive and we believe this new bottling line will add to the tools we need to remain successful."
Meanwhile, another NSW winery, located in the Central Ranges region, Cumulus Estate, announced today the launch of the Cumulus Contract Winery Services, which aims to provide packaging, bottling and freight services for other local wineries.
Cumulus Estate plans to hold an open day on Wednesday 20 June to showcase its bottling line and services to fellow wineries in the region, which spans from Mudgee to Bathurst and Orange.
A spokesperson for Cumulus said that reducing the impact on the environment by packaging and bottling locally was one of the key focus points of the new operation, along with bringing the region's winemakers together to reduce their carbon footprint and offer affordable packaging and freight solutions.