(Guide2) -A large landholding of what was once the family-owned and operated Nobilo wine empire west of Auckland has been placed on the market for sale.

The 7.49 hectare property bordering the township of Kumeu was once planted in white and red grapes, and was part of the huge landholding created by New Zealand wine legend Nikola ‘Nick’ Nobilo.

Nick Nobilo was born in Croatia and immigrated to New Zealand with his family in 1937 to settle in Kumeu. Nobilo came from a winemaking family which had been producing vintages for some 300 years.

Nick and his brothers planted the first grapes in the Kumeu/Huapai locality in 1943 and were among New Zealand’s wine pioneering families - alongside such iconic names as Corban, Babich, Selak, Delegat and Yukich (which went on to become Montana).

In 1995, Nick Nobilo was awarded an Order of the British Empire for services to the viticulture industry. Several years later the brand and much of the productive land around West Auckland was sold to one of Australia's largest winemakers, BRL Hardy. The wine pioneer died in 2007, at the age of 94. Now part of the original Nobilo vineyard, as well as a three bedroom home previously used as manager’s premises when the vineyard was at its peak, is being sold off.