Pioneering winery faces mortgagee sale

Canterbury’s oldest commercial winery - and a pioneer in the profile of New Zealand wine on the international stage - is on the market through a mortgagee sale.

St Helena Vineyard in the Christchurch suburb of Belfast was established in 1978 by the Mundy family. At the time, St Helena became the first winery to be financed by a Rural Bank loan – and was opened by the Prime Minister. It won Canterbury’s first ever gold medal at a wine competition in 1982.

The 41.6 hectare winery operation produces a range of styles – including pinot blanc, pinot gris, pinot noir, riesling, and chardonnay.

The St Helena Vineyard land and operation is being marketed for sale by Bayleys Canterbury - with offers closing on May 31. Bayleys Canterbury director Bill Whalan said that that at its peak, St Helena was the region’s second biggest wine producer, after Giesen Estate.

“Some 25 hectares of the total property is developed for grape production, with an additional four hectares of blackcurrant plantings offering cropping variety,” Mr Whalan said.

“A full winery complex on the site includes a processing area, fermenting plant, cooled barrel room, bottling facility, laboratory, packaging area, and dispatch store. The winery features a shop for public tastings and off-premise sales to visitors.

“However, it must be pointed out that we are only selling the land, buildings and possibly some plant – and not the brand or company which owns the land and plant. Therefore, it is not a ‘going concern’ as such.”

Included in the sale offering are two substantial farm storage buildings which house general implement machinery, while numerous other smaller buildings are utilised for vehicle storage and staff amenities. There are two residential dwellings on the property - a five-bedroom home, and a four-bedroom bungalow dating back to the 1920s.

Company documentation shows the property was owned by MJ Mundy Ltd - which was placed into liquidation in March this year after some 55 years in business. Mr Whalan said there was potential conversion land available for additional plantings.

“Alternatively, as this is highly fertile soil, the vines could be removed and the area replanted in high-value crops such as fruit, berries, or vegetables,” he said.

“The opportunity is there for existing wineries to purchase the land for its vine plantings, or to access the production plant in conjunction with existing production operations which could deliver sauvignon blanc harvests from Marlborough for example.”

Bayleys has been instrumental in the sale of several prominent New Zealand wineries over the past six months – including Gravitas Vineyard in Marlborough which was sold to NZX-listed Delegat’s, and Paritua Vineyards Ltd in Hawke’s Bay which was sold out of receivership for an undisclosed sum to an investment company.

“Those sales show there is still support for New Zealand wine production in the long-term. With the benefit of a quality product and an established brand, combined with our extensive database of interested buyers for New Zealand wineries, we are confident of achieving a similar result for St Helena,” Mr Whalan said.