New Zealand Winegrowers Research Centre (NZWRC) today announced that it has succeeded in securing the full $12.5 million of funding possible from Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) for its establishment as a Regional Research Institute.
“Funding of $10.5m was confirmed in 2017 with an additional $2m available once work plans were approved,” says NZWRC CEO, MJ Loza. “We are pleased to receive news this week that we have secured this additional funding, as well as having our work plans to establish the NZWRC approved.
“It’s a fantastic result and a testament to a great deal of hard work by the NZWRC team, with support from right across the wine industry and wine research community,” says Loza. “There’s a lot to do, and this is a great milestone to achieve.”
NZWRC recently announced the engagement of Dr Brian Jordan as Acting Head of Research while it continues to recruit for a permanent appointee to that key role. This followed on from the announcement at last month’s Romeo Bragato Conference of MoUs being signed with Lincoln University and the University of Auckland.
“We’re making some pleasing progress and look forward to keeping the industry informed as we achieve our set-up milestones,” says Loza.
NZWRC will provide cutting-edge science, research and innovation to benefit New Zealand’s entire wine industry. Although the centre is based in Marlborough, research will be national in focus.
