DREAM COME TRUE? HOW TO BUY A VINEYARD
A vineyard of one’s own is every wine lover’s fantasy, but what would it take to actually make it happen? Chris Mercer talks to real estate experts and takes a look at top properties
Could you ever really buy a vineyard property? It’s something every wine lover has thought about, so we quizzed brokers from Provence to California about some of the key market dynamics and what is available.
Bordeaux’s ‘hobby vineyards’
Eagle-eyed entrepreneurs in Bordeaux have seen opportunities to renovate properties with a view to meeting demand for so-called ‘hobby vineyards’, says estate agency VineyardsBordeaux. It’s a loose term, but a hobby vineyard owner probably doesn’t need to make a profit from the grapes or the wine, says Michael Baynes, executive partner and co-founder of Vineyards-Bordeaux, which is affiliated to Christie’s International Real Estate.
It might not even be the buyer’s primary residence. And the house will likely constitute more than 50% of the transaction value, according to a broad definition outlined by the Christie’s ‘Masters Circle’ of global property specialists. Properties like this are generally going to include a few hectares of vines and a well-presented residence, whether it’s a small house or a full-on château building.
In Bordeaux, Baynes says hobby vineyard buyers are often willing to spend more for a ‘turnkey’ estate. Essentially, you can turn up with your toothbrush rather than having to worry about potentially expensive renovations before taking up residence.
He says the sweet spot for this kind of estate is in the region of €3.5m to €4m (£3m-£3.4m), although prices do naturally vary. Bordeaux’s Right Bank and Entre-deux-Mers throw up the most opportunities. St-Emilion is unsurprisingly a ‘hotbed’ in terms of demand, but the Côtes de Bordeaux appellation in general is an interesting area to look at, according to Baynes.
Buyers include ‘people from all walks of life’, he says. Profiles include ‘wine enthusiasts who recognise that they love wine but don’t know how to make it’, and who ‘might have done WSET [qualifications]’.
Or it might be ‘somebody who loves the wine lifestyle’ but only wants to stay at the estate a few weeks per year, perhaps for meetings or entertaining. Baynes recalls selling a property to a NATO diplomat ‘who needed to be in the Europe arena’ for military and political meetings.
Some people want to get really geeky about the wine side, and don’t mind spending serious money to create their boutique brand.
‘We had a Goldman Sachs director who absolutely fell in love with the vineyards and the wine,’ recounts Baynes. ‘He just wanted a really outstanding winery, and he didn’t mind if it wasn’t commercially profitable.’
‘There are ways to get into the vineyard world without spending millions – one is to just buy the vines’
Other buyers are seeking a whole lifestyle change. Several estate agents speak of people reassessing lifestyles in light of the Covid-19 crisis – often looking to move out of cities.
Opportunities: from Tuscany to Provence
Provence is an example of a ‘booming’ vineyard market, says Adam Dakin, director of the
Wine Objectives agency – he covers most of southern France from Languedoc to Côte-Rôtie and St-Tropez. Rosé’s popularity has helped. Recent notable deals include businessman Stéphane Courbit joining with Bordeaux’s
Prats family to buy Château d’Estoublon, and Château Cos d’Estournel owner Michel Reybier purchasing Château La Mascaronne.
Prices can vary significantly, however. Speaking purely about the vineyard land, Dakin says the northern Var region (Provence) averages about €80,000 (£69,000) per hectare. But it’s €150,000 (£130,000) per hectare nearer the coast – and the glamour of the Côte d’Azur.
Across the Italian border, Tuscany’s rolling hills, vineyards and olive groves make for another top destination. Gemma Bruce, MD and co-founder of Italian property specialist Casa & Country, says there are a mix of lifestyle estates with vines and more commercial wine properties. You could get a residence with a hectare of vines and some olive groves for about €1.5m (£1.3m). But prices stretch up to several times that figure, too. ‘The more developed and well maintained it is, prices go up quickly,’ says Bruce.
‘We are working with a couple of groups of investors,’ she says. Whether it’s friends or colleagues who share a passion for wine, one option is to buy a place that’s been used for holiday rentals, and then everyone can have their own apartment. ‘A lot of properties [coming up for sale] have been owned by the same family for a long time,’ Bruce adds. These often need work, however. Vines might need to be replanted or winery equipment upgraded, for example.