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Last of founding vineyard empire goes on the market for sale
Last of founding vineyard empire goes on the market for
sale
A large landholding of what was once the
family-owned and operated Nobilo wine empire west of
Auckland has been placed on the market for sale.
The
7.49 hectare property bordering the township of Kumeu was
once planted in white and red grapes, and was part of the
huge landholding created by New Zealand wine legend Nikola
‘Nick’ Nobilo.
Nick Nobilo was born in Croatia and
emigrated to New Zealand with his family in 1937 to settle
in Kumeu. Nobilo came from a winemaking family which had
been producing vintages for some 300 years.
Nick and
his brothers planted the first grapes in the Kumeu/Huapai
locality in 1943 and were among New Zealand’s wine
pioneering families – alongside such iconic names as
Corban, Babich, Selak, Delegat and Yukich (which went on to
become Montana).
In 1995, Nick Nobilo was awarded an Order of the British Empire for services to the viticulture industry. Several years later the brand and much of the productive land around West Auckland was sold to one of Australia's largest winemakers, BRL Hardy. The wine pioneer died in 2007, at the age of 94.
Now part of the original Nobilo vineyard, as well as a three bedroom home previously used as manager’s premises when the vineyard was at its peak, is being sold off. The offering also includes a workshop and large stables believed to have housed horses used to plough up the land for vine plantings.
Such is Nick Nobilo’s influence in the Kumeu/Huapai region that the property is located in a road named after him.
The Kumeu property and buildings are being sold through Bayleys North West in a tender process closing on April 24. Bayleys North West sales person Terry Jones said the flat contoured land was zoned ‘Future Urban’ under Auckland Council’s current plans. The property has a council valuation of $1.975million.
“The vines have long since gone and Kumeu is now a bustling town compared to when Nick settled there and the ‘shops’ literally consisted of a supply store, a blacksmith’s workshop, a post office, and a garage. Yet there’s no doubting Nick Nobilo’s incredible vision,’ said Mr Jones.
“First he saw that the land was ideal
for planting grapes. And now, because of its immediate
proximity to town, it is ideal for residential
subdivision… although I doubt Nick had planned for that
when he bought the land some 70 years ago.”
Mr Jones
said that within a decade, as Auckland’s urban limit
continued to expand out to the north-west, Kumeu would cease
to be a rural service ‘township’ and would eventually be
swallowed up as part of the greater city
conurbation.
“Auckland city’s growth out toward
Kumeu will be a replication of what happened to Albany and
Silverdale on the North Shore. A generation ago, those areas
where packed with apple orchards and green fields. Now look
at them… vast commercial and residential suburbs which are
essentially now an extension of the North Shore.”
Mr
Jones said that while the Kumeu land would most likely be
purchased by an experienced housing developer with expertise
in medium-sized residential subdivisions of around 500
square metres, it could also be purchased by someone looking
for a large lifestyle block within walking distance of the
town’s central amenities.
“The size of the
existing block determines that it could quite easily,
subject to council consent, be broken down into three or
four large sections,” he
said.
ends
Bayleys Real Estate
New Zealand
Bayleys is New Zealand's largest full-service real estate company. We offer expertise in the marketing and sale of a wide range of property, including residential real estate, farms and lifestyle blocks, and commercial and industrial property. This includes tourism and business sales such as hotels and motels. We also cover the real estate markets in Fiji and other Pacific Islands.
Bayleys also provides a complete property and facilities service including property management and valuations teams focused on achieving both Owner and Tenant satisfaction.
No other real estate company can match our breadth of coverage across all market sectors throughout New Zealand.
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