"Donald Eagle" wrote ........
>
> Can you, Lord St Helier, or any other Kiwi confirm or deny that for the NZ
> facility? They also have an Oregon winery.
> I went to their web site this morning and there was no indication
> of any such disappearance. I am interested in acquiring some of the Otago
> wine for home consumption if possible. TIA.


NEWS - PLEASE NOTE DATE:

Posted: Thursday, August 24, 2006


Gary Andrus' New Zealand Winery Placed in Receivership

Founder of Pine Ridge and Archery Summit saw debts mount and exchange rates
shift over two small vintages

New Zealand winery Gypsy Dancer, owned by American vintner Gary Andrus, has
fallen on hard times.

The Bank of New Zealand has placed Andrus Family Trust NZ Holdings in
receivership, due to large outstanding debts, and appointed an accounting
firm to sell off the wine company's assets.

WHK Cook Adams, in Queenstown, is handling the sale of the Central Otago
winery, its three Pinot Noir vineyards (which total about 70 acres), 800
cases of bottled wine and 26,000 liters of wine in barrel.

Andrus' Gypsy Dancer property in Oregon is not affected by the New Zealand
proceedings.

Andrus founded Pine Ridge in Napa Valley in 1978, and launched Archery
Summit in Oregon in 1993. He sold his shares in those wineries in 2001, then
in 2002 he bought property in New Zealand and a Pinot Noir vineyard in
Oregon to start his Gypsy Dancer label.

The first vintage of Gypsy Dancer from Central Otago was 2003.

Ironically, Andrus' troubles come after a vintage he called "one of the six
or seven best in all my years of winemaking." The fledgling vineyards
suffered severe frosts in 2004, while the following year brought cold, wet
weather during the critical flowering period, resulting in another
shortfall. Each of those two vintages only yielded a few hundred cases of
Gypsy Dancer. In 2006, 3,000 cases were produced, but along with that
increase came a rise in the value of the New Zealand dollar against U.S.
currency.

[End]

St.Helier's Note: Have not seen this label in NZ for nearly two years now,
so I would suggest that you grab what you can, as there will be no more!