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Landmark Matakana winery Ascension Wine Estate is up for sale after being largely closed to the public for more than two years.
Apart from the summer concerts or music festival in its vineyard, Ascension’s facilities have lain mostly dormant since 2019, with the cellar door, restaurant and function centre usually closed and winemaking ticking over.
Now the 7.5 hectare site is on the market in two lots with Ray White Matakana & Omaha. The first lot comprises the main building complex, including a 200-seat restaurant, bar, cellar door and conference area, plus four hectares of vineyard and the winery, which produces around 25,000 bottles a year. The second includes a 110 square metre manager’s cottage, storage and workers’ accommodation, as well as resource consent for 11 villas, including a reception and manager’s accommodation.
Ascension Wine Estate was founded by Daryl and Bridget Soljan in the mid-1990s and it quickly became a popular venue for weddings, functions, dining and concerts. However, it went into receivership in 2013 and was bought by brothers Gino and Kiro Gurshin and Alex and Mick Sipka, who reopened Ascension in September 2014. Alex Sipka later bought out the Gurshin brothers and, in March 2019, attempted to lease the hospitality side of the business to a specialist operator.
The wine estate is being marketed by agent Annie Mellor, who says its prime position minutes from the new motorway and its commercial zoning means Ascension offers endless options for investors. The price will be by negotiation.
