TWE's New Zealand shake-up continues

Treasury Wine Estates has announced it is selling two New Zealand vineyards - Hawke’s Bay’s Dartmoor Vineyard and Matheson Vineyard.

The vineyards are being sold without ongoing supply contracts, so they face an uncertain future as grape producers. Currently, grapes from the Hawke's Bay vineyards are crushed locally before being transported to the Matua Marlborough Winery for winemaking.

Matheson Vineyard has a guide selling price of NZ$4.38 million, and Dartmoor Vineyard NZ$2.2 million. The vineyards are being marketed jointly by Bayleys Auckland and Bayleys Napier.

Bayleys Auckland winery sales specialist Mike Peterson said production levels at both properties were sustained by excellent irrigation programmes – with both vineyards accredited under the Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand program.

“Both the Dartmoor and Matheson vineyards operate purpose-built bore and well-drawn irrigation systems, with appropriate resource consents in place from Hawke’s Bay Regional Council,” he said.

TWE - which counts Matua, Secret Stone, Angle Cove, Squealing Pig and Shingle Peak in its NZ portfolio - has been focussing its operations in the Marlborough region, buying 566 ha in the area last year for an estimated price of $NZ29million.

The company sold the original Auckland home of Matua to Sutton Group Holdings for an undisclosed sum last year. The vineyard was founded by brothers Bill and Ross Spence, who claim to have planted New Zealand's first Sauvignon Blanc vines. The property had been owned by TWE since 2011. TWE also sold the Matua packaging and cellar door site in Waimauku.

Marlborough has outstripped major centres such as Auckland and Canterbury to post the country's largest gains in gross domestic product over a five-year period, largely on the back of the growing wine sector.

Figures from Statistics New Zealand showed between 2011 and 2016, GDP in the region climbed 32.3%, the largest growth in the country.