NZ: Marlborough shaken by another quake

(TheDrinksBusiness) - A 6.6 magnitude earthquake struck the New Zealand wine region of Marlborough at 2.31pm (AEST) today causing damage to several wineries.

According to New Zealand news agency Fairfax Media, a tank was damaged at a Riverlands winery, causing 250,000 litres of wine to spill down the drain.

Renowned Marlborough estate Cloudy Bay is also thought to have sustained damage in the quake though the extent is not yet known.

Meanwhile, a cellar and several tanks of wine had sustained “significant damage” at South Pacific Cellars winery.

“There are tanks everywhere. Several tanks have ruptured and there is some wine loss,” the winery’s manager, Graeme Paul, told Fairfax Media.

“It’s pretty dodgy in there. I’ve had to send staff home,” he added.

At Saint Clair Family Estate, a 300,000 tank holding 2013 Sauvignon Blanc ruptured.

Senior winemaker Hamish Clark managed to save most of the wine by pumping it into spare tanks, but he estimated the loss of wine would likely be in the “thousands of litres”.

Pernod Ricard’s Fabian Partigliani told the news agency that the company’s Marlborough winery, Brancott Estate, didn’t appear to have been damaged.