New Zealand wine company Indevin Group is to bottle a selection of its Villa Maria wines in the UK from early 2024.

The company said today that Encirc in Elton would handle its UK operations.

The move follows “several years” of research in partnership with agent Hatch Mansfield, as the companies look to prioritise sustainability and consider the carbon footprint of shipping wine from New Zealand to its largest export market.

Indevin CEO, Duncan McFarlane said: “The transport of wine has changed considerably over the years to be more innovative, sustainable, and efficient to keep up with global demand. We think shipping glass around the world just doesn’t make sense; this move will reduce Villa Maria’s CO2 emissions by 27% for each shipment bottled in the UK and improve our ability to be more agile with UK customer orders.”

The Villa Maria brand is described as a “critical part” of Indevin Group’s global growth strategy, primarily in the UK market.