Major winery sale opens up new markets for New Zealand wine labels

High profile Hawke’s Bay winery and vineyard Paritua Vineyards Ltd has been bought out of receivership for an undisclosed sum.

The 68 hectare vineyard and winery was developed in 2003-2004 - with some $30million spent on planting vines, alongside construction of a state-of-the-art winery encompassing buildings and plant.

Bayleys Hawke’s Bay worked with the receivers, Grant Thornton Ltd, to introduce a buyer for the property.

Bayleys Hawke’s Bay director Glynn Rees-Jones said the vineyard last year produced some 20,000 cases of wine, but had the potential to increase output to 30,000 cases through additional cropping. Further expansion of the refrigeration capacity and tank space would enable the vineyard to produce 60,000 cases of wine.

“Part of the due diligence purchase process encompassed the eventual new owners purchasing a large quantity of the 2008, 2009, and 2010 vintages, and taking those to an international market to gauge buyer feedback… which was very positive ,and ultimately helped push the deal through,” Mr Rees-Jones said.
Paritua is planted with 54 hectares of vines which are producing a mix of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot, malbec, syrah, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and semillon grapes under the premium Paritua label, and its secondary Stone Paddock label.

Buildings on the vineyard include a mix of commercial, industrial and residential amenities. Paritua’s wine-making and storage facility includes temperature-controlled barrel halls, crushing room, laboratory and several administration offices were designed by an architectural designer. The winery is some 13 kilometres west of Hastings.

“The sale of Paritua underpins a long-term confidence in New Zealand’s wine markets. As a result of the global recession, combined with changing consumer tastes in countries whose populations were not traditional wine drinkers, we are seeing a whole new refocus of where New Zealand premium wine will be exported,” Mr Rees-Jones said.