olssen's
olssen's
(Image credit: olssen's)

The recently-resigned head of the New Zealand stock exchange has just bought a winery in the country’s prime Pinot Noir region.

After 10 years as CEO of the NZX, Mark Weldon made headlines when he resigned last week.

Now, days later, he has announced his purchase of Olssen’s of Bannockburn in Felton Road, Central Otago.

Weldon, a former Olympic swimmer and law graduate, has an impressive CV but no experience of the wine industry.

‘The vineyard, Jen Parr the winemaker, and the wines themselves are amazing, and we have every intention of investing to maintain and improve the focus on quality wines,’ Weldon said.

‘We believe deeply in the vineyard, the old vines, the quality of the Bannockburn sub-region, and the future of the estate.’

Heather McPherson, co-founder of Olssen’s, will continue to play a role in the winery under Weldon’s ownership, after 22 years running the business.

The sum paid has not been disclosed.

Written by Rebecca Gibb in Auckland

Rebecca Gibb MW
Rebecca Gibb MW
Decanter Magazine & DWWA Judge

Rebecca Gibb MW is a wine journalist and editor who has also founded Bamboozled games, ‘the world’s first wine and spirit puzzle makers’. Having spent six years living in New Zealand, she has recently returned to her native north-east England. While in New Zealand, she became a Master of Wine, graduating top of her class and winning the Madame Bollinger medal for excellence in tasting. A former winner of both the UK’s young wine writer of the year and the Louis Roederer Emerging Wine Writer, her first book The Wines of New Zealand was published in 2018. She also runs wine events and has her own consultancy business The Drinks Project. She was a judge at the 2019 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA).