They poured their hearts and souls into establishing Black Ridge vineyard, one of the southernmost vineyards and wineries in the world, but have decided to call it quits.
The 21ha Earnscleugh property, which includes the winery and 8.6ha vineyard, is for sale by auction on December 9.
They have yet to fix a reserve price and declined to speculate on the property's value.
Ms Edwards yesterday said they had put their hearts and energy into the property for 30 years and "now we'd like to do other things before we're too decrepit or ill with some major illness.
"We're both over 60 now and we certainly don't want to depart this place in a box."
The couple plan to continue living in Central Otago.
Mr Burgess says their plans include "a very large shed" on a rural property where he can indulge his passion for inventing.
"I'm a bit of a mad inventor, but I'd rather not say just yet what I plan to build in the shed ...
"Just watch this space," he teased.
His planned inventions were no more far-fetched than the couple's foray into the wine industry, he said.
Ms Edwards said they were told they were "bloody idiots" to be growing grapes in Alexandra.
The wine industry had no credibility at all, she said.
They did their homework before selecting the site and read all the data available about growing grapes.
Experimental plantings of grapes had been grown but there were no commercial grape-growing ventures in the Alexandra area when they started.
"The textbooks were for Gisborne conditions and bore no correlation at all to the dryland conditions here, so it was a whole new ball game," Ms Edwards said.
"We were reading about `ploughing the soil ready to place the cuttings in' whereas here we were blasting rock to put post holes in.
"But we were young, looking for some horticultural venture and didn't mind a gamble - we'd stepped off a few cliffs already," she said.
Mr Burgess was a builder by trade and she was working as the community education organiser at Central Otago REAP.
Since 1981, 27,500 vines have been planted at Black Ridge, mostly gerwurtztraminer, riesling, pinot noir and chardonnay, with a "tiny bit" of cabernet sauvignon.
The "battle against the rabbits" has been waged, with thousands being killed.
The couple's Burmese cat Kuce is responsible for getting rid of about 300 a year.
Weather extremes were another challenge.
"That's common to all farming operations, though," Ms Edwards pointed out.
"Every region gets their curry-up from time to time, whether it's floods, frosts, hail, snow or whatever.
No region is immune."
This season, which may be their last on the property, has been "cruisy" so far, with few concerns about frosts.
The growth of the wine industry in the Alexandra basin was astounding, Ms Edwards said.
"A few years ago there were 12 or 14 growers in the Alexandra-Clyde basin.
"At this year's new release tasting there were 22 vineyards from the area producing wines, and that's by no means all of them."
