Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) is celebrating 20 years since the opening of its Barossa Packaging Centre, a then-$75 million development designed to centralise and streamline its wine bottling and packaging operations across Australia and New Zealand.
The Nuriootpa site in the heart of South Australia’s Barossa Valley spans five hectares and almost 59,000m2 of buildings, and is the largest premium wine bottling facility in the southern hemisphere.
The site is the global production engine room for TWE and produces more than 95 per cent of its Australian and New Zealand wines (excluding bulk wines). More than 270 million cases of wine have been bottled since it opened in 2005 – equivalent to 23 billion glasses of wine.
The site has been integral to TWE’s international growth through increased production and storage capacity, improved efficiencies in transport, and processing and technology advances. It also demonstrates the wine producer’s commitment to sustainability and innovation, with on-site solar panels, process automation, water recycling, and LED lighting.
TWE has invested more than $190 million in additional technology at the site in the past three years alone, including the $165 million luxury winemaking expansion unveiled in 2022, a $10 million world-first automated barrel management system launched in 2024, and a $15 million no-alcohol and low-alcohol wine production facility opened in June this year.
On any given day, up to 190 staff are based at the site across three shifts, increasing to 260 during peak production.
It is also home to what TWE calls the very best in wine packaging, including a special hand-poured, triple-layer black glass bottle for the top-shelf Penfolds 50 Year Old Rare Tawny, other luxury Penfolds wine, and iconic brands such as Pepperjack, Matua, Squealing Pig, 19 Crimes, and Wynns Coonawarra Estate.
The packaging centre’s site manager, Jorge Henry, said it was an important milestone for the wine producer, its people, and the industry.
“The Barossa Packaging Centre was ambitious and technologically advanced for its time – one that TWE has continued investing in to remain at the forefront of wine technology and processing for the past 20 years,” he said.
“A number of our people have been here since day one, adapting and growing with the business. Many of them have gone on to further study and now have senior management roles at the facility – we celebrated some 20-year milestones last week, and even a 35-year one.
“It’s an exciting time for wine as we invest in modernisation and new technology. I’m passionate about upskilling our people with training and qualifications that create meaningful growth opportunities.
“Our team is very proud to produce the highest quality products and leading the way from the Barossa Valley and South Australia – we’re putting Australian wine on the map.”
Staff marked the milestone with a 20th anniversary event, with all employees downing tools for the day to come together for a celebratory lunch attended by partners and suppliers, together with Barossa Mayor Bim Lange and Barossa Australia CEO Scott Hazeldine.
