Vineyard opens new tasting room

After 25 years of thinking about it, much family input and a year's construction, Rippon Vineyard's new tasting room and function hall is ready to open.

The Rippon Hall, which sits above the Wanaka vineyard overlooking the lake and mountains, opens this month.

Its walls are made of rammed earth from the Rippon grounds and the vaulted roof built from larch timber taken from a nearby forest.

Rippon Vineyard and Winery manager Jo Rippon said a new hall, with a catering kitchen, tasting room and outdoor terrace, has been a family project for the past 25 years.

"It's been a long time, it's a new tasting room and we also have the hall for community projects."

The family decided not to build a restaurant but the hall has a catering kitchen for functions, tastings and community events.

Ms Rippon said her parents, Rolfe and Lois Mills, always had it in their minds to diversify and build a central tasting room.

The new hall was part of a long-term plan to expand the business and open a new winery, she said.

Wanaka-based architect Rafe Maclean was the project manager and a "huge amount of family input" went into the final design for the hall, she said.

"It's such a personal project, it's very much about family, furnishings are all family stuff."

A celebration party – which costs $65 per ticket – kicks off on January 23, with live music by local artists and a performance by Warren Maxwell, founder member of Trinity Roots.