Murdoch James Estate has new owners and the investment has allowed the still family-run business to triple its exports in the past year.
Exports and sales manager Roger Fraser said they had been working very hard for the past 10 years to create opportunities for growth, but got to a point where they didn't have the money to see them happen.
"We were pounding the streets of Asia - Vietnam, Singapore, China - before it was really sexy and when everyone else was looking at the UK and Europe, but we weren't large enough to take advantage of it at the time," Mr Fraser said.
Murdoch James Estate advertised for new capital but couldn't get it, then put the business up for sale, but with no takers for about 18 months.
That was, until a young couple from China, now New Zealand residents, whom Mr Fraser declined to name, came along.
"It was this young guy from Wellington, he'd been to the restaurant for lunch, he had come along for a tasting, taken a wine tour ... he even asked for a discount on some wine," Mr Fraser said. "Which we said no to because he wasn't buying enough."
The deal was done on February 29, and Mr Fraser said under new ownership staff had better working conditions, more room to grow, and investors were on board with the company's vision.
"We run it just like we did in the old days ... I'm having more fun than I've had in a long time," he said.
Mr Fraser, who founded the winery with wife Jill in 1986, said the business was still very much family-run with Mr Fraser on the operations side and son Carl Fraser leading the wine-making.
The investment has allowed them to build a new winery with computerised vats, a new barrel hall, and expand their vineyards from 15 to 39 hectares, tripling their production capacity.
He estimates the winery exported 20,000 cases of wine in the past year, up from 6000 the year before and he is expecting to reach 70,000 next year.
While Murdoch James is making the most of its new owners' contacts in China, their biggest growth has been across the pond in Australia.
Mr Fraser said the focus was still on quality - New Zealand would never compete with Australia on price because of the scale of production there, but it could make good wines.
He said China was still developing its palate for wine but with a growing middle-class there was a lot of potential for growth.
As in the Japanese market, consumers were becoming more informed about wine, and less driven by brand.
Mr Fraser said what set Murdoch James apart was that it was never just about the wine.
"Having wine on the shelf is like having baked beans on the shelf - it's when you put it with an experience that you create magic."