Three Hawke’s Bay vineyards hit the market
Three well-performing Hawke’s Bay vineyard properties have been placed on the market for sale providing an opportunity for buyers to secure one or more established viticulture operations to continue grape production, or convert the large-scale landholdings to an alternative use.
The properties are owned by New Zealand-based company The Wine Portfolio which is looking to divest part of its extensive portfolio of vineyards.
Tantallon Vineyard is located at State Highway 50-Maraekakaho Road in Roys Hill-Bridge Pa within the Ngatarawa Triangle viticultural sub-region, while the Kinross Jurgen and Kinross Kent vineyards are in Omapere Road, in the viticulture area known as Crownthorpe.
Both of these areas are renowned for early cropping, with the subject vineyards having good soils and water, consistent production volumes, and producing quality fruit with a broad range of varietals suited to each of the specific sites.
Plantings include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Gewurztraminer, Malbec, Syrah, Montepulciano, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Viognier. Many award-winning wines have been made from grapes sourced from these vineyards for multiple wine companies around the world.
The properties have a combined land area of 334.2ha. There are no active supply contracts associated with any of the vineyards, and there are varying amounts of infrastructure across the individual landholdings, including some dwellings.
The vineyards are being offered for sale as individual lots, in some combination, or as a complete portfolio via a tender process closing 1st May through Mike Poff and Tim Wynne-Lewis of Bayleys,.
The agents say that unlike other parts of the region, these properties saw no significant damage during Cyclone Gabrielle, and given the soil and water credentials, the land could potentially be converted to horticulture or cropping ventures.
Poff says the subject vineyards are significant holdings and with the current owners rationalising their comprehensive national portfolio, there’s plenty of opportunity for a new owner or owners to gain entry to the enviable Hawke’s Bay viticulture sector or to add to an existing operation.
“Individually, these are viable, standalone productive units producing quality grapes that have contributed to some acclaimed wine.
“When bundled together, the combined landholdings would give a buyer a really solid foothold in the Hawke’s Bay market with all the most popular varietals covered off.
“There’s a documented nationwide shortage of chardonnay currently, and with Chardonnay grapes planted across all three of these blocks, astute buyers will recognise the opportunity.”
Tantallon Vineyard has streamlined access off both State Highway 50 and Maraekakaho Roads and comprises 119ha in total, with 106ha planted in a mix of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Syrah, Montepulciano, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Viognier. Improvements include a tidy three-bedroom house, three bores, office, workshop, implement shed and other ancillary buildings.
In Omapere Road, the 54.9ha Kinross Jurgen block has 35ha planted in Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The property is located on an elevated terrace headland, overlooking the Ngaruroro River and has additional land that could be planted.
The Kinross Kent block covers approximately 160ha, with 100.8ha planted in Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Noir. This property spans both sides of Omapere Road, occupying a series of river terraces on one side and an additional square-shaped block on the other, with improvements including a four-bedroom family home, staff amenities, extensive shedding and a large workshop.
Wynne-Lewis says there has been some good enquiry to date and genuine interest from newcomers to the Hawke’s Bay viticulture market, established local grape growers, and national wine entities looking to expand operations and extend their geographical spread.
“There have only been a couple of vineyard sales and orchards transacted Hawke’s Bay in the last 12 months, so ascertaining value on these properties will be left to the tender process.
“The resilience of this land through an extreme weather event, the quality of the soils and water, and the proven production track record of the three landholdings, will ultimately dictate where buyers see the value.”
He says there has also been interest from people wanting to acquire large landholdings for apples, cropping and even solar farming to tap into the Bay’s high sunshine hours for renewable energy production.
“Productive land has always been coveted in the region and many larger wine companies are looking to the future and wishing to secure production options for the long term.
“Likewise, institutional and corporate investors are seeking diversification within their property portfolios to include valuable and proven productive land which these properties clearly demonstrate.”
Post-cyclone, grape yields are down In Hawke’s Bay but the fruit quality is excellent, says Poff.
“The same can be said for the apple harvest in the Bay, but we’ve had a decent summer this year and the cropping sector has had a fantastic run with good harvests of maize, sweetcorn, squash and onions.”
According to the Q1 2024 RLB Crane Index, 139 long term cranes were counted across New Zealand, down from a record high of 157 cranes a year ago (Q1 2023) highlighting the continued pressure on the residential market and the significant decline in residential construction activity, particularly across multiunit residential.
The 21st edition of the biannual report also noted that non-residential long-term cranes have hit a new peak of 109 cranes, or 78% of cranes across the major centres. Whilst non-residential projects include those in the aged-care, civil, civic, data centres/ industrial, education, health, mixed-use, and retail sectors, the key contributor to this new watermark was the continuous strong demand for government-led infrastructure (civil) projects and the significant crane activity on Te Kaha Christchurch Stadium.
Chris Haines, Director Rider Levett Bucknall said, “Looking at the seven key centres across New Zealand, 139 long-term cranes were recorded on developments this quarter: 79 cranes in Auckland, 24 cranes in Christchurch, 11 cranes in Queenstown, 10 cranes in Wellington, 7 cranes in Dunedin, 6 cranes in Tauranga and 2 cranes in Hamilton.”
“A net decrease of 5 long-term cranes from 144 to 139 cranes (3% fall) across New Zealand was recorded over the past six months, following a slowing of crane commencements. This is particularly true of the residential sector and a slowing pipeline where only eight new long-term cranes have been sighted since Q3 2023 and 25 residential cranes have been removed, equating to a 36% decrease in residential cranes across the country,” he said.
This movement of building activity from the residential sector to the non-residential sector is reflected in the latest RLB Crane Index results. The proportion of residential cranes across New Zealand fell to 21.6%, the lowest since Q3 2015. Only 30 residential long-term cranes are currently on sites across the country, also the lowest number since Q3 2015. The current number of residential cranes is significantly lower than the peak of 76 recorded just 18 months ago in Q3 2022.
The non-residential sectors recorded strong growth in 2023, with health, education, civic and commercial sectors all recording double digit increases in the value of work put in place. Te Kaha Christchurch Stadium which is well into the construction phase, currently has 10 cranes onsite - the most cranes on a single project in the country.
This is reflected in the continuing upward trajectory of the non-residential index. However, future government spend, and pipeline remains uncertain. The eagerly awaited May budget will be a key indicator of the construction industry’s pipeline into the near future.
The value of building consents fell 11.9% in the 2023 calendar year, with total consents across New Zealand down $3.8bn from the record value seen in 2022.
Residential consents were down by 16.5% and non-residential fell by 1%. The current drop in consent values is likely to be a strong indicator of both demand and future crane activity over the next 12 to 18 months.
“There was a net decrease of five long-term cranes for this edition of the RLB Crane Index. Fifty-eight cranes were removed from sites, while 53 new long-term cranes were placed on sites. Despite the decrease in net crane numbers, the commercial sector saw strong activity with an additional eight long-term cranes, while the civic and recreation sectors each added four long-term cranes,” Haines continued.
Christchurch had its highest total since 2017 with a total of 24 cranes and Dunedin reached a record crane count of 7 cranes with the hospital project now gaining momentum. Tauranga had a net increase of two cranes. Queenstown saw six cranes removed and six new cranes on sites across the region. Auckland saw the largest drop in long-term crane numbers, from 90 in the last edition to now hosting 79, a 12% decline. Both Hamilton and Wellington saw a fall of two cranes each.