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Burge Family Buys Krondorf For A Third Time

By Thursday 17 February 2022September 29th, 2023No Comments

Burge Barossa has added Krondorf Winery to its growing white winemaking stable. It marks the third time in its history that Krondorf has found itself in the Burge family’s hands.

The winery was first acquired by a young Grant Burge in 1978, sold to Mildara Blass and repurchased in 1999, again sold to and now acquired from Accolade Wines.

“It’s a very special homecoming,” says Grant Burge.

“I have effectively bought back a significant part of my past, having first acquired Krondorf Winery– which, to add to the poignancy, sits alongside our family home in the Barossa – as a 27-year-old.

“Now, at the age of 70, I’m looking forward to both the person and the wine ageing well.”

The purchase will allow Burge Barossa – an integrated wine and tourism services company – to produce and bottle about 178,000 dozen bottles of white wine per annum for its growing contractor base, more than doubling previous output of 60,000 dozen and establishing the winery as a medium-size player in the region.

It further sees Burge Barossa invest $1 million in a new, soon-to-be-constructed bottling plant and warehouse that will create about10 temporary jobs during the construction phase and another 10 full time positions once fully operational.

In addition, the Krondorf acquisition will create a similar number of permanent positions in the winery and across production, the combined effect being a staff increase from 50 in 2019 to 70 in the near future.

The purchase of Krondorf follows Accolade’s decision 12 months ago to close the site, after which, with Burge Barossa in a robust growth phase, it initially leased the Krondorf-based facilities to address its pressing need for extra white wine production capacity.

Grant Burge recalls how he, as an ambitious young winemaker – and an equally aspiring 24-year-old Ian Wilson – bought the label from Dalgety Wine Estates in 1978.

The pair spent the next eight years developing Krondorf Wines to the point where it was one of the most feted in the region.

Perhaps the most notable achievement during this time came in 1980 when the Krondorf 1979 Cabernet Sauvignon won the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy.

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