Popular wedding venue at NSW winery destroyed in major fire

A popular wedding venue has been destroyed after a major blaze tore through a winery in NSW's Hunter Valley region overnight.

Both the roof and the floor of the all-timber function centre at Tamburlaine Organic Wines collapsed after it quickly went up in flames about 9.30pm.

More than 50 fire crews rushed to tackle the blaze at the venue at McDonalds Road in Pokolbin, taking about four-and-a-half hours to bring it under control.

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The devastated owners of the winery now have to call brides and grooms to let them know that their wedding venue has burnt down.

The blaze is believed to have begun in the kitchen before it spread to other buildings.

Inspector Ben Shepherd said it took until 2am today for crews to contain the fire.

Firefighters remained on scene at lunchtime on Friday putting out hotspots.

Investigations will investigate the cause of the fire once authorities are able to get inside the wreckage, but it has been suggested a lightning storm may have caused an electrical fault inside the building.

Shepherd noted there were considerable lightning strikes across the Hunter Valley area last night.

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Tamburlaine is one of Australia's biggest organic wine producers and was established in 1966.

In 1985, it was bought by a small group of friends and relatives led by managing director and head of grape and wine production, Mark Davidson.

It has become a popular venue for weddings and other events.

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