Corbans
Former New Zealand winery
title: "Corbans" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["wineries-of-new-zealand", "1902-establishments-in-new-zealand", "west-auckland,-new-zealand"] description: "Former New Zealand winery" topic_path: "geography/new-zealand" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corbans" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Former New Zealand winery ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Bottle,Wine(Italiano_Spumante)_(48709467566).jpg" caption="Bottle of Italian-style sparkling wine from Corbans"] ::
Corbans Wines was one of New Zealand's oldest wineries, established in 1902 by Assid Abraham Corban, a Lebanese immigrant who had arrived in New Zealand ten years earlier. Corbans Wines grew to become the second largest producer of wine in New Zealand, until they were purchased by their largest competitor Montana Wines in 2000.{{cite news | url = https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=152197 | title = Montana buys out Corbans | author-first = Dita | author-last = De Boni | date = 20 September 2000 | work = The New Zealand Herald | accessdate = 1 September 2018 | title = Pernod to sell NZ wine brands | publisher = Radio New Zealand | date = 19 October 2010 | accessdate = 2019-08-08 | url = https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/59872/pernod-to-sell-nz-wine-brands
History
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Corban_mausoleum_20220604_125813.jpg" caption="The Corban family mausoleum in [[Waikumete Cemetery"] ::
Assid Abraham Corban purchased a 4 ha block of rural land for £320 in Henderson. Although Henderson is now suburban Auckland, at the time the block was in a rural area quite some distance away, which he named Mt Lebanon Vineyards. The original plantings were Black Hamburgh, Chasselas, Hermitage, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
The first vintage was in 1908, coinciding with the local electorate voting in prohibition, which meant he was unable to sell wine from the property. Assid's son Wadier took over wine-making in 1916, and by the 1920s the Corban family were the largest winemakers in New Zealand. Development of different vineyards by the five sons of Assid Corban continued until 1963 when the partnership of the five brothers was converted into Corban Wines Ltd.{{cite news | title = We are the Corbans | author-first = Shelley | author-last = Greco | date = 28 February 2014 | newspaper = Western Leader | publisher = Fairfax Media | url = http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/western-leader/9771396/We-are-the-Corbans | access-date = 2 September 2018
By the 1960s, Corbans produced New Zealand's first commercial Müller-Thurgau, Pinotage, and Chardonnay wines, and were pioneering many new developments in winemaking such as using cultured yeast and temperature-control during fermentation, and the use of stainless steel tanks and press machinery. At the same time however, the family struggled to finance increasing competition with Montana Wines. New Zealand food wholesaler Rothman Industries (later Magnum Corporation) took a shareholding, and by 1979 had taken full control.{{cite encyclopedia | author-first = Michael | author-last = Cooper | author-link = Michael Cooper (wine writer) | title = Corban, Assid Abraham | encyclopedia = Dictionary of New Zealand Biography | date = 1996 | publisher = Te Ara: the Encyclopedia of New Zealand | url = https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/3c31/corban-assid-abraham | access-date = 2 September 2018
In the 1980s Corbans was also producing wines under the Stoneleigh and Robard and Butler labels. Today, the Corban family are no longer associated with Corbans wines; Alwyn Corban set out in 1981 to establish Ngatarawa Wines in what is now the Bridge Pa Triangle zone of the Hawke's Bay wine region, now owned by Mission Estate.{{cite journal | url = https://www.noted.co.nz/currently/history/how-a-lebanese-immigrant-pioneered-one-of-nzs-most-dominant-wine-companies/ | title = How a Lebanese immigrant pioneered one of NZ's most dominant wine companies | author-last = du Fresne | author-first = Karl | journal = The Listener | date = 17 February 2018 | access-date = 1 September 2018 | archive-date = 1 September 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180901182633/https://www.noted.co.nz/currently/history/how-a-lebanese-immigrant-pioneered-one-of-nzs-most-dominant-wine-companies/ | url-status = dead
Corban Estate Arts Centre
Main article: Corban Estate Arts Centre
The original estate homestead and winery buildings in Henderson were sold in 1992 to the Waitakere City Council, which repurposed the historic buildings as artist's studios, galleries, office spaces and a café establishing the Corban Estate Arts Centre (CEAC) in 2001. The address is 2 Mt Lebanon Lane and 426 Great North Road, Henderson, Auckland. Since the Auckland city councils merged, the centre is funded by the Auckland City Council and also the Henderson-Massey Local Board. There is a wide range of programmes, including art classes for adults and children and a schools education programme. One example is the Kākano Youth Arts Collective, set up in 2013 in response to concerns about anti-social behaviour of young people in West Auckland. Arts organisations based at Corbans Estate also include Te Pou Theatre, Red Leap Theatre and Atamira Dance Company.
References
References
- "History". Corban Estate Arts Centre.
- Council, Auckland. "Facilities we support with funding".
- (2018-08-21). "Arts projects for vulnerable youth".
- "Te Pou Theatre {{!}} Auckland".
- "About – Red Leap Theatre".
- (2012-03-21). "Dance company takes new stage".
- "Organisations {{!}} Corban Estate Arts Centre".
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::