Major organic Marlborough winery up for sale
A leading organic winery in Blenheim, Marlborough, has already attracted interest from both domestic and international buyers after hitting the market earlier this month. But prospective owners shouldn’t expect to produce Sauvignon Blanc…
A highly regarded New Zealand winery has been put on the market because according to property broker Mike Proff, who is overseeing the sale, most of its owners now live “off-shore”.
“It’s a changing of the old guard, really,” Proff told local publication The Press / Te Matatika.
Included in the sale of Fromm Winery is 8.4 hectares of freehold land, along with all buildings, including the winemaking plant and associated equipment, plus “a substantial amount of stock” and an established national and international distribution network.
“It’s the sort of asset that a large company might add to their portfolio of wineries, or it could be a standalone business,” Proff said.
Organic giant
Founded in Marlborough’s Southern Valleys in early 1992 by Swiss winemakers Georg Fromm and Hätsch Kalberer, Fromm made its first vintage that same year. The Fromms later returned to Switzerland in 2008 to focus on their family winery there, leaving the New Zealand property in the care of four directors: Allan De Reeper, Pol Lezinger and Stephan Wallister.
Over the decades, Fromm’s Marlborough arm has gained something of a cult reputation for its single-vineyard wines, made using organic practices and Burgundian winemaking techniques. Crucially, all of Fromm’s vineyards are now fully certified BioGro organic, having undergone conversion in 2005, with 60% of the producer’s vines dry-farmed. Among the varieties planted are Pinot Noir, Syrah, Malbec, Chardonnay, Riesling and Pinot Gris. But unlike most wine producers in Marlborough, Sauvignon Blanc is only harvested “during excellent vintages”. When it does make wine from the eponymous grape, only around 3,000 cases are produced.
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Fromm’s vineyards are farmed by hand, and its grapes hand-picked, whilst in the winery there is no fining or filtration, and minimal sulphur used. In the producer’s report for its 2025 harvest, which concluded on 15 April, Fromm revealed that flowering had been earlier than normal this year, and fruit set excellent across all varieties. “While welcome, this excellent fruit set meant that our crop yield was looking higher than we would usually like. We, therefore, undertook
crop thinning to ensure the balance of our vines and the even maturation of our fruit,” the report said. “This proved to be a good decision.”
According to the report, the standout wine for 2025 is likely to be Fromm’s Riesling Spätlese, “which shows beautiful purity, and a delightful balance between brightness and sweetness. Our Pinot Noir, Syrah and Malbec are all now resting in barrel, but are so far looking varietally expressive, with great balance and harmony even at this early stage.”
Exodus into the hills
Clayvin Vineyard, one of the most famed vineyards in Marlborough, was once owned by Fromm and played a key role in the “exodus into the hills for quality producers” over the last decade. Considered to be a pivotal moment for the region, this exodus saw many wineries pull out underperforming vines from the valley floor, and move them to more optimal hillside sites. The change kicked off in 1992 when Clayvin’s Pinot vineyard became the first to be moved uphill. However, it wasn’t until irrigation was finally installed in the hills in around 2004 that the move became a more viable option for dozens more producers. The Fromms sold Clayvin to the Giesen family in 2011, though reportedly still have access to its grapes through a lease agreement.
Growing Pinot Noir at altitude is something the Fromms understood very well, having cultivated the variety in the high mountain terrain of Graubünden, on the Swiss border with Austria and Alto Adige, for five generations. The Swiss region of Malans, where Weingut Fromm is based, is surrounded by towering peaks of up to 2,500 meters [8,000 feet] above sea level. Weingut Fromm’s Pinot is generally revered as one of the finest in Switzerland.
According to Georg Fromm he is proud to have been “a wine walker in two worlds”, but at the age of 55 he decided to “devote myself entirely to the Swiss company in Malans again.”
The Marlborough Fromm sale is expected to generate a sum “in the multi-millions”, but the property cannot be sold ahead of its 4 September deadline so there is still time for interested parties to throw their hat in the ring.
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