Conditions ripe to snap up a vineyard as feeling of optimism returns

EVER dreant of leaving the rat race and living on a winery? Now could just be the perfect time.

IT’S a dream thrashed out over many a glass of fine chardonnay or shiraz — to sell the city house and buy a vineyard in the country.

But for those serious about making a “grape-change”, the time might is ripe.

After a slump that began during the GFC, industry analysts believe now could be the ideal time for buyers to scoop up good deals before prices begin to climb.

Director of rural and agribusiness at Colliers real estate, Tim Altschwager, said falling profitability among wine producers had contributing to a drop in real estate prices.

“The industry has gone through some tough times recently, but a feeling of optimism has returned and buyers have an opportunity to enter the market before real estate prices start going up again,” Mr Altschwager said.

Vineyard prices vary greatly, but roughly 80 per cent of the wineries that come onto the market in destinations such as Orange and the Hunter Valley list at under $5 million, which includes the price of the land, grapes and farmhouse.

For $1 million, the standard price for an inner-city Sydney house, buyers can purchase a house on a small wine estate, but they would usually require further investment for grapes and a cellar.

This is substantially cheaper than before the GFC, when even small wineries were selling for multi-million dollar figures.

“There’s no real standard when it comes to how vineyards are priced because sellers offer very different deals, but it’s definitely a buyer’s market right now,” said Colmar Estate owner Bill Shrapnel.

Mr Shrapnel and wife Jane purchased a 30-hectare vineyard near Orange late last year for just over $1.4 million. Included in the deal were six hectares of grapes, a farmhouse and cellar.

The couple sold their Beecroft home to fund the purchase and were surprised at how far their money went.

Most of the vineyards that go up for sale Hunter Valley area available for less than $5 million.

“It’s been a lifelong dream of ours to live on a vineyard and it was remarkable how easy it was to do. There are some very good deals at the moment,” Mr Shrapnel said.

Nick and Rebecca Diamond, from Sydney, were just as surprised when they first went shopping for a vineyard two years ago.

“It had started as a daydream,” Mrs Diamond said. “We’d always wanted to live on a vineyard, but it was only when we started looking at boutique winery prices that we realised that it would be possible on our budget.”

The couple sold their Bondi home, quit their jobs in IT and advertising, and moved onto a 16-hectare vineyard at Pokolbin, in the Hunter Valley, complete with cellar and farmhouse.

Having no prior experience making wine, the couple now hand pick grapes for their own boutique label Carriages at Diamond Estate, which specialises in Shiraz, Chardonnay and Rose.

Mrs Diamond said the move was one of the best decisions they had ever made.

“Living on a vineyard has brought back a sense of childhood freedom,” she said. “In Sydney we were caught in the rat race, but we live at a different pace now. We take our daughter on tractor rides every day and own a business we love.”

Chef Andreas Martz also made the move from Sydney to a wine estate, but warned those interested in following in his footsteps to prepare for a lot of work.

“It’s an interesting way to live because your home is also your business,” he said. “There are a lot of different jobs you have to juggle and even though it may seem romantic it’s not for everyone.”