The land and buildings housing New Zealand’s leading cidery have been placed on the market for sale.

The freehold property at 523 Moutere Highway, in the heart of Nelson’s Redwood Valley horticultural area, is leased by Redwood Cider Company which produces beverages for the country’s largest and broadest portfolio of cider brands.

Redwood Cider Company is a joint-venture established eight years ago between established Nelson-based cider producer Redwood Cellars and majority shareholder DB Breweries, for the production and distribution of cider products in New Zealand and offshore.

The award-winning Redwood Valley cidery premises have been operating since 1947. The dedicated facility on Moutere Highway between Nelson and Motueka, today produces cider for popular consumer brands Monteith’s Crushed Cider, Rekorderlig, Orchard Thieves and Old Mout - which has been produced in the area for more than 70 years and lays claim to having Australasia’s most-awarded range of ciders.

Located with frontages on to Moutere Highway and Redwood Valley Lane, the site is the Redwood Cider Company’s primary base for the manufacture, storage, distribution and sale of ciders and fruit wines. The property generates annual net rental income of $138,600 plus GST per annum on a current lease running through to 2022, with two further four-year rights of renewal.

The land and buildings at 523 Moutere Highway are now being marketed for sale by Bayleys Nelson with an asking price of $1,920,000 plus GST, if any. Salesperson Daniel Reed said the premises comprised three buildings with a combined floorspace of some 848 square metres on approximately 1.2 hectares of freehold land.

Mr Reed said the site incorporated fermentation and bottling facilities, warehousing and storage areas - including cold-storage facilities - commercial offices and staff amenities. External structures included significant canopies and paved areas supporting vehicle access to and from the property for loading and distribution.

The site is zoned Rural Industrial under Tasman District Council’s resource management plan. This zoning allows for a range of rural industries as well as telecommunication or radio-communication facilities.

“Land use among surrounding properties is a mix of vineyards, market gardens and lifestyle blocks, in an area which used to be dominated by traditional farm land,” said Mr Reed.

The cidery sourced locally-grown apples and pears, as well as a variety of other fruits including feijoas and berries – much of which was grown within a 50-kilometre radius of the property, he said.

“The Redwood Valley property’s location in a key horticultural area, combined with its use for the production of multiple popular-brand ciders, means it is strategically positioned to benefit from the rapid growth in consumer demand for ciders and fruit wines.”

According to industry analysis in 2018 by business analytics firm IRI, cider was worth $55.5 million to the New Zealand economy, and was growing at a rate of eight per cent a year, said Mr Reed.

“The property’s location on Moutere Highway and two kilometres from Highway 60 also provides convenient access to Nelson city, whose port and airport are both less than 30 minutes away by road.”