Robertson family to sell Wairarapa's Dry River Wines to Wellington businessman

Winery being sold to Wellington businessman Charlie Zheng. Photo / supplied

The American family of the late billionaire Julian Robertson are selling the New Zealand winery investment business Dry River Wines to a Wellingtonian.

Jay Robertson, chief executive of Robertson Lodges and a spokesman for the family, said the owner of Luna Estate and luxury retreat Parehua Resort, Charlie Zheng, was buying the winery.

Zheng is a New Zealand investor, wine enthusiast and has appeared on the NBR Rich List as one of this country's wealthy people.

Julian Robertson died in August, aged 90. He loved New Zealand during a visit in 1979 and invested and donated millions of dollars here during his life.

Jay Robertson said ownership of the Martinborough vineyard was not a key to the family's ongoing business interests here.

"While my family's deep love and commitment to New Zealand remains strong, the last couple of Covid years gave us the chance to refocus and consolidate our business interests.

"With three award-winning New Zealand lodges and two outstanding golf courses under the Robertson Lodges banner, it became evident that tourism, hotels and their restaurants, and golf were our core New Zealand businesses. These pillars will remain our focus for many years to come."

The late Julian Robertson. Photo / Dean Purcell

The family business had owned Dry River for the past 20 years and Robertson said it had invested heavily in the brand.

Zheng would continue to invest and build on the brand as its new owner.

The vineyard said it was established in 1979 by Dr Neil and Dawn McCallum "and was one of Martinborough's first wineries. Named for one of South Wairarapa's earliest sheep stations, Dry River rests on the very arid, gravelly, free-draining soils near the Ruamahunga River, an area known as the Martinborough Terrace".

Robertson Lodges owns three properties: Kauri Cliffs, Cape Kidnappers and Matakauri.

The statement on the vineyard sale outlined the importance of these properties to the business and the premium locations they are in.

The Herald reported in 2018 how Luna Estate was formerly Alana Estate and Murdoch James, but both were bought several years ago by Charlie Zheng. He renamed the vineyards Luna in a reference to the moon. However, Zheng's daughter is named Luna.

In 2016, the Herald reported how Chao "Charlie" Zheng has featured on the NBR Rich List for the first time.

NBR said Zheng had "mostly flown under the radar" since his arrival in New Zealand from China a decade ago, until he purchased Kirkcaldie & Stains' old Harbour City Centre building for $45.85 million in 2014. Zheng's commercial property portfolio has boosted his wealth to $110m.