Indevin Group has confirmed its plans to transition its New Zealand bottling operations to third-party partner, WineWorks.

The company says the shift will happen in July of this year and it will exit from its current Māngere site in November.

Indevin had reevaluated the need for such a large site after deciding to bottle a selection of its Villa Maria wines locally in the UK, which impacted bottling volumes at Māngere.

35 roles will be disestablished as part of the process and the company says it is actively working with the teams on positions available with WineWorks, redeployment opportunities within Indevin, other industry opportunities and outplacement support.

Indevin had been exploring different options for a bottling solution, one of which was the possibility of establishing its own standalone bottling operation, but has decided to expand its relationship with WineWorks to support its remaining New Zealand bottling. It has worked with WineWorks for the past 20 years.

Indevin Group CEO Duncan McFarlane says, “This decision has not been made lightly and considers the significantly higher than anticipated costs of establishing a standalone operation, the challenge of securing additional volume with customers, the difficulty in finding a suitable property and a compelling proposal from WineWorks, which includes employment opportunities for some Indevin staff.”

Over the next few months, Indevin will gradually reduce its operations at the Māngere site, which includes decommissioning the winery, warehouse, bottling line, office, and grounds.