A week after its restaurant kitchen was gutted by fire, Shadowfax Winery has vowed to come back bigger and better.
General manager Phil Strachan said the staff spent last week cancelling weddings or functions scheduled for June and July and working with nearby businesses to relocate events.
Mr Strachan said assessors were still investigating the extent of the fire damage, with a suspended ceiling lifted at the weekend to inspect any damage done to the roof.
Shadowfax expects to know by the end of this week how long the re-build will take and when its restaurant and cellar door will re-open to the public.
In the interim, it is retaining all of its staff members and redeploying them to other roles.
Mr Strachan said CCTV footage revealed the fire started smouldering in the kitchen about 2am on May 30 before catching fire about 4.45am.
It wasn’t until about 7am that the fire had properly taken hold, with Werribee CFA bringing the fire under control within 40 minutes.
The fire, which was confined to the kitchen, had spread upwards to rows of empty display wine barrels, and also affected a structural beam that abuts the restaurant.
The exact cause of the fire is still being determined, but an electrical fault is suspected.
Mr Strachan said no wine was ruined in the fire.
“Nothing in the winery has been damaged,” he said.
“We’ve been very lucky, I guess.”
He thanked the Werribee CFA, surrounding businesses and locals for their support.
