Gravitas Wines’ Director, Martyn Nicholls, has bought sheep farmland in the Upper Wairau in 1996, and established the Gravitas winery after a universal search for land appropriate for a quality vineyard, having followed a career in merchant banking.

Mr. Nicholls and his late partner, Debbie Argus, were shoddily injured during a three-wheeler motorbike crash in January 2009. Ms. Argus was diagnosed with cancer afterwards and died about a year ago.

The 40 hectares of sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, pinot noir and Riesling are being administered by receivers, Richard Simpson and David Ruscoe of Grant Thornton New Zealand, in Wellington.

As part of its expansion plans, Gravitas was one of three South Island wineries targeted by California's Saint James Company, earlier this year.

Early in 2009, Saint James had attained the North American rights for Koala Blue, an Australian label set up by Olivia Newton-John and Pat Farrar.

The United States Company had also articulated interest last year in Marlborough wine Company, Lawson's Dry Hills, which afterwards pulled out of the sale.

The winery had lost curiosity in a latent sale during a drawn-out procedure with questions over funding, Lawson's General Manager, Sion Barnsley said.

Saint James had also had an Overseas Investment Office approval to buy the Bolitho family-owned Waimea Estates planted in 1992 and situated in Appleby, Nelson, and Bolitho Vineyards in Hope, Nelson.