Winery destroyed in blaze

Buildings and entire 2005 vintage lost
CLADDAGH Vineyard's Martinborough winery was reduced to rubble and ashes yesterday in an early-morning blaze that also destroyed the entire 2005 vintage.
Firefighters arrived to find the building collapsing in flames, also razing to the ground the tasting room, commercial kitchen and cafe and remaining 2004 vintage.
Martinborough Fire Brigade chief Garry Jackson said yesterday that when the engines arrived, the roof had already gone, the fire was well involved and "all we could really do was stop it from spreading".
Mr Jackson said four appliances were there, two from Martinborough and and a further two from Greytown, with four pumps on deck and a water tanker from Lake Ferry.
Henry Stechman, fire investigating officer, said it was thought that it was probably electrical in origin.
Vineyard owners Suzann and Russell Pearless awoke about 3am on Tuesday ? Mrs Pearless to the roar of huge winds and the sound of things being blown about.
"I heard things banging and asked Russell to get up and check the ponies because they may have been frightened," she said.
"He went into the lounge and from there could see the glow in the sky from the fire.
"He was ringing for the fire service when our neighbour arrived who had also seen the fire and already had called the fire service."
Yesterday morning, having surveyed the ruins which in places were still smouldering, Mrs Pearless said the family were devastated.
"We were supposed to be bottling tomorrow, (today) but every thing's gone. It's hundreds of thousands of dollars worth, including the wine press tanks and French barrels."
She said the 2004 chardonnay, pinot noir, cabernet and merlot, and the 2005 sauvignon blanc and the reds in barrel ? pinot noir, merlot and cabernet ? were all ready to be bottled.
"It was the fifth vintage for our son Sean who makes the rose and that's gone too. We even had the labels laid out."
Mrs Pearless said it had taken her and her husband 14 years to establish the vineyard this far ? "there are no shareholders, just Russell and me.
"But I guess the important things like the kids, and the house, the ponies and dogs are all fine.
"And we've also had the most amazing support from the community and our friends."
Mr Pearless' father, Ian, said the former woolshed, a building of about 250 sq m, housed the winery, tasting room and cafe and was originally a pre-World War II woolshed moved from a farm across the road in 1998.
The first vintage from the winery was also produced that year.
Made of native timbers, mainly totara, it was all double-studded, and with a deck made with the original woolshed floor, it was revamped, done up and added to, eventually including the cafe which opened last summer.
The garden, with garden furniture and a bricked floor area leading from the cafe was largely undamaged.
Mrs Pearless said the goal now was to clean up in time for the Martinborough Festival at the end of November.