Woollaston Estates winery in NZ, a unique four-level gravity-fed winery designed by Oregon winery architect Larry Ferar, supported by Arthouse Architecture of Nelson, has been designed to incorporate the best of traditional wine making practices with state-of-the-art modern equipment to produce award-winning wine.

Built entirely of concrete, the gravity-fed winery (also referred to as a gravity-flow winery) is set into the Mahana hillside where the living roof of native tussock and shrubs allows it to blend gently with the surrounding Nelson landscape.

Used to make all of Woollaston Estates fine wines, the gravity-fed winery is designed for the gentlest possible handling of grapes and wine, which is particularly beneficial in making of high quality Pinot Noir.

The multi-level, award-winning winery uses gravity to transfer the wine through its evolution from grape to bottle. Pinot Noir grapes are hand-sorted and destemmed at the top level of the winery utilising a specialised destemmer, the only one of its kind in Australasia. It gently plucks the grapes from the stems, leaving more of the fruit intact which facilitates extended fermentation time and the retention of more berry fruit aroma in the wine.

Grapes then slide down a stainless steel chute to fermentation vats on the next level. The wine continues its gravity-propelled journey through the winery building before being bottled under gravity on the bottom level months later. Click here to see an interactive map of the different levels of the gravity-winery and how the gravity-flow operates.

The top three levels of the gravity-fed winery are dedicated to winemaking while the bottom level contains wine ageing in barrels, the bottling line, wine library and The Cellars - a large hall which doubles as a winery work space and as a function room for concerts and dinners.

With advanced notice, we do our best to accomodate group winery tour requests.

For further information about our wine style click here, or to purchase award-winning wines visit our online shop.