Leading New Zealand and Central Otago Pinot Noir producer, Mt Difficulty is bucking the trend following excellent sales during a tough economic period, by investing $1.5m to expand its wine production capacity.

General Manager and Winemaker Matt Dicey says sales have increased across the board by about 10 per cent in the past year. "This is a great result during what has generally been regarded as a very difficult time. It has given us the confidence to go ahead with our new production facility on our Bannockburn site, increasing our capacity from 500 tonnes up to 700-800 tonnes."

Mt Difficulty has, over the past four years, produced its wine both at the company's Felton Road Bannockburn property and at premises in Cromwell.

"It will be much more efficient to have everything under the one roof and the state-of-the-art extensions to our existing winery built in 2001, are designed so that we can continue to produce high quality hand made Pinot Noir, and enhance our facilities for other varieties."

In another positive move Mt Difficulty has recently invested in a new 30ha vineyard in the Pisa foothills near Cromwell.

"We felt the time was right to improve our balance in the vineyard and we are optimistic about the future of aromatic whites," says Dicey. "Until now we have been fairly heavily weighted towards Pinot Noir but our new site is being planted in a mix of Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Gewrztraminer grapes. We are excited about the potential for these grapes and the subsequent wines we will produce."

Mt Difficulty is owned by a group of local investors who have been involved since the vineyard was developed in 1992.

"The owners are committed to their investment and believe that our growth in the past year has been largely demand driven both domestically and internationally. This applies to both our entry point range, Roaring Meg, and our signature Mt Difficulty brand. The growth has been particularly noteworthy because competition is at an all-time high and the marketplace has over supply issues worldwide."

Development at Mt Difficulty, which is a member of Sustainable Winegrowing NZ, is focused on environmental challenges to ensure the ongoing sustainability and environmental integrity of the operation.

"Our waste water treatment plant with its recyclable water is an industry leader and the aim is to stimulate revegetation of the land and transform it from its barren state to the way it was in pre-European times," says Dicey. "We have also investigated the use of renewable energy resources such as wood biomass for heating which we are installing. We are also currently investigating a micro-hydro scheme to offset electricity use."

"We have been fortunate to win contestable grants from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) not only to investigate these projects but also as a contribution to their installation. Our focus in this area ultimately assists our long term vision, to lessen the impact on the environment and protect and enhance the land, which we are fortunate enough to make great wines from."