Former Eagle buys into New Zealand wine producer

Previous Screaming Eagle owner Charles Banks has expanded his wine empire by signing a deal to take control of New Zealand’s Hawkes Bay Trinity Hill wine producer. Banks and his business Terroir Selections will take a majority stake in the business, subject to approval by New Zealand's overseas investment office.

Chief among his plans is a new ‘boutique winery’ with a focus on top-of-the-range reds from Trinity’s 81 hectares, including around 48ha in the Gimblett Gravels area.

This is the latest in a series of investments by Banks, who only last week emerged as one of a trio of new investors in Evening Land winery in Oregon. Last year, he bought a controlling stake in Sonoma-based Wind Gap winery and acquired Napa-based Mayacamas with business partner Jay Schottenstein.