FrostBoss®

In global wine markets, supply certainty underpins everything; from retail shelf space to long-term export contracts. Volumes must be met, harvests delivered, and brand promises kept, year after year.

In Marlborough, home to over 70% of New Zealand’s viticulture production, that certainty is increasingly under threat. Frost is among the most destructive threats to high-value crops. A single event can damage vines, delay exports, and erode trust with international buyers. As vineyards expand into colder, high-risk terrain, frost protection has become essential infrastructure. It protects yield, capital investment, land value, and market access.

FrostBoss® delivers that infrastructure at scale.

Founded in New Zealand and operating globally, FrostBoss® designs and manufactures advanced frost protection systems used across six continents. Its multi-blade technology is proven in Marlborough, where climate exposure and production intensity demand solutions that perform under pressure and deliver measurable outcomes.

Unlocking value in high-risk terrain

As Marlborough’s vineyard development has expanded beyond its original river terraces, growers have increasingly planted in areas exposed to higher frost risk. Inland flats, elevated slopes, and sheltered valleys offer strong viticultural potential but sit in colder microclimates. Without intervention, the risk of spring frost makes these locations unsuitable for consistent, high-value production.

FrostBoss® unlocks the potential of these high-risk blocks through a proven frost mitigation system.

The fans are designed to counter radiation frost, the most common and damaging frost type in Marlborough. This form of frost occurs on still, clear nights when heat stored in the soil during the day escapes into the atmosphere. As that heat rises, colder, denser air settles near the ground, while a warmer air layer remains trapped above. This creates a temperature inversion: warmer air sits 15 to 20 metres above the vineyard, while temperatures at canopy level drop to damaging lows.

FrostBoss® fans are engineered to intercept that inversion layer. Each unit is mounted on a tall tower and equipped with a high-efficiency, multi-blade fan head. The fan rotates around the tower approximately every 7 minutes, covering an elliptical, rather than circular, shape due to the effect of katabatic drift which is cold air flowing like water to its lowest point. As it spins, the fan draws warm air downward and pushes it across the vineyard, raising the ambient air temperature around the vines by two to three degrees, enough to prevent ice crystals from forming on buds and young shoots. This protection is critical during early growth stages, when even a brief frost event can compromise yield for the entire season.

This consistency is what distinguishes FrostBoss®. It delivers controlled airflow that lifts vineyard temperatures efficiently, achieving effective frost protection with lower fuel use and no added heat. The system performs reliably across large blocks and variable terrain, transforming high-risk land into productive vineyard.

Designing for Performance, Built for Compliance

In many wine regions, frost fans are necessary but not always welcome. Traditional two-blade systems operate at high speeds, generating significant noise that can disturb neighbours and trigger regulatory constraints. In some cases, they limit how much land can be protected, simply because of sound exposure.

FrostBoss® set out to engineer a better solution.

The company pioneered a composite fan blade design for its 4 and 5-blade machines, that delivers greater airflow at lower revolutions per minute (RPM). By reducing tip speed and increasing the volume of air moved per rotation, FrostBoss® fans improve efficiency while dramatically reducing noise.

This unlocks two key advantages. First, quieter operation makes it easier to comply with sound regulations, critical in areas where vineyards border residential or lifestyle properties. Growers can protect larger blocks without breaching limits. Second, the refined aerodynamic profile of the blades produces more consistent wind momentum, minimising any air turbulence. The resulting wind stream maintains integrity further from the fan. The result is quieter, cleaner operation that saves cost and emissions.

Built for long-term field performance, each unit is designed to handle variable terrain and tough conditions. Towers are structurally robust. Gearboxes are engineered to deliver smooth, continuous rotation. Every fan is precision-balanced to reduce vibration, wear, and downtime.

For growers, FrostBoss® systems are more than mechanical assets, they’re infrastructure tools that deliver compliance, cost control, and production certainty, season after season.

Safeguarding Supply Chains from First Bud to Final Bottle

For Marlborough’s wine industry, frost risk doesn’t end at the vineyard, it ripples across entire supply chains and export agreements.

Wine exports from Marlborough are worth over $2 billion annually, anchored by strict commitments to international buyers. Every harvest must arrive on schedule, in volume, and to exact specifications. A single frost event can interrupt this precision, causing yield shortfalls, delaying bottling schedules, and compromising carefully built relationships in competitive markets.

FrostBoss directly addresses this vulnerability. Rather than reacting after damage occurs, its infrastructure ensures consistent yield at the critical first step of production, protecting harvest schedules and market obligations from disruption.

Beyond equipment, FrostBoss supports this certainty through responsive, locally based service. Marlborough-based teams provide rapid support, parts supply, and proactive maintenance to ensure systems operate at peak readiness, precisely when the region needs them most.

This integration of technology, service, and operational readiness ensures FrostBoss doesn’t just protect grapes, it preserves business continuity. For growers, it secures annual yield expectations. For exporters, it stabilises supply commitments.

Designed for Certainty, Engineered for Scale

FrostBoss gives growers the ability to operate with certainty in regions where frost once made production unpredictable. It transforms frost protection from a seasonal response into permanent infrastructure, supporting expansion into colder terrain, maintaining crop security, and delivering consistent supply across global markets.

The system is built for scale. From aerodynamic fan design and real-time digital monitoring to localised service capability, every element is engineered to perform under pressure and adapt to diverse growing conditions.

Developed in New Zealand and proven internationally, FrostBoss shows how targeted agritech can convert climate risk into production stability, securing yield, strengthening supply chains, and enabling growth in the world’s most valuable growing regions.