Turning wine into fuel at Giesen Winery

Why climate change influences everyday operations

While Giesen’s commercial and strategic operations are anchored in Christchurch, the grapes themselves are grown and harvested in Marlborough.  

In Marlborough, weather volatility is now part of the operating environment. 

“Climate change isn’t just about gradual warming, it’s also about more unpredictable weather. We’re getting more random storm events and wetter periods at times of the year when you really don’t want them,” O’Brien says. 

Increased rainfall has lifted disease pressure in the vineyard, making fruit management more complex. Frost events, once a regular feature of Marlborough springs, have eased in recent years, meaning fewer helicopters hovering over vines at dawn – but the overall shift has introduced new uncertainties rather than removed risk. 

“Overall, it puts more pressure on viticulturists to manage the vineyard through to harvest.” 

Why is sustainability critical to Giesen’s future?

For a winery whose future depends on the land, those shifts raise a harder question than yield or timing – they raise questions about longevity.

For Giesen, sustainability isn’t framed as a badge. It’s framed as survival.

“We’ve been making traditional wine for 40 years, and now we’re seeing some pretty clear shifts in the industry. So the question becomes: what does a sustainable business look like going forward?

How did Giesen become a leader in non-alcoholic wine?

The move into zero-alcohol wine ramped up for Giesen in 2019. A trial batch confirmed that Marlborough sauvignon blanc could undergo careful de-alcoholisation while preserving its distinctive aromatics and flavour profile. The early market response – particularly in Australia and later the United States – was strong.

Six years on, Giesen is the number one selling premium non-alcoholic wine brand in the United States.

But stripping alcohol out of wine comes with a technical complication: energy.

The spinning cone process that removes alcohol requires a significant energy source. In the past, this energy demand was primarily met by LPG.

Rather than accept the added emissions and cost, Giesen engineered a loop.

How does turning wine into fuel reduce emissions?

“When we purchased our second spinning cone machine, we also invested in a packed distillation column,” explains O’Brien. “The distillation column allows us to re-distil that alcohol, taking it up to around 95 percent, at which point it becomes a viable fuel source.

“We worked with our equipment supplier to see whether that ethanol could be used to fuel the boiler that runs the spinning cone system. At first, they looked at us like we were mad – but we gave it a go, and it worked.”

The alcohol removed from the wine is now used to fuel the boiler that powers the spinning cone system – creating a closed, circular energy loop.

“What that means in practical terms is that we no longer need to import and burn LPG – lower emissions, lower energy costs, and less reliance on imported fuel.”

There’s another branch to the loop.

Through a partnership with Marlborough-based Strange Nature Distilling, some of the 45 percent ethanol stream is used to create Strange Nature Gin – a grape-based gin distilled from sauvignon blanc spirit.

One bi-product becomes two outputs: renewable fuel and a premium spirit.

How else is Giesen redesigning winery operations?

Energy is only one lever in Giesen’s sustainability approach.

Giesen has installed five Alfa Laval decanters to replace traditional wine presses – reducing water and energy use while speeding up processing during increasingly unpredictable harvest windows.

Packaging and freight have also been rethought. About 91 percent of bottles are now lightweight. Wine for markets like Australia and the UK is shipped in bulk and bottled in-market, cutting freight emissions.

O’Brien says sustainability is now embedded in the way Giesen operates, not treated as a separate initiative.

What does Giesen’s approach mean for Christchurch?

For Christchurch, that matters. The city’s Economic Ambition calls for growth that is regenerative, innovation-led, and internationally competitive.

Giesen’s story suggests those goals don’t require grand statements – just operational rewiring.

Or as O’Brien puts it: “You can achieve a lot, even from down here.”

Key takeaways

• Turning wine into fuel has enabled Giesen to cut emissions, costs, and reliance on imported energy
• Climate change is reshaping vineyard management, making sustainable innovation essential
• Non-alcoholic wine growth has driven both commercial success and operational reinvention
• Circular systems can turn waste into value, strengthening long-term business resilience.