Casella Family Brands is selling 35 vineyards covering 7,258 hectares in South Australia and Victoria.
This is according to a report in The Australian today.
In will be the biggest vineyard sale in the history of the Australian wine industry.
The newspaper says Casella is pivoting to a new “capital-light and asset-light strategy” where most of its vineyards will be owned by third parties.
“This will unshackle the Casella family from the onerous and expensive job of running the vineyards and allow them to concentrate their efforts and investments in the Casella wine brands, growing export markets and moving into new beverage categories such as spirits, beer and seltzer,” The Australian says.
“As part of any vineyard sale deal a long-term sale agreement will ensure Casella retains the winegrapes from these vineyards to ensure ongoing supply for its established brands.”
John Casella says, “The company is in a sound financial position, having recently experienced global record sales for Yellow Tail during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“While demand has stabilised, we are forecasting future growth due to ongoing investment in our brands supported by a strategic innovation pipeline.
“The intended strategic partnership will allow us to focus on strengthening our brands globally, and therefore deliver positive outcomes for the Australian wine industry.”
The Australian says some Casella vineyards in the Riverina and Barossa are not for sale, “as well as its Victorian vineyards, which include Baileys of Glenrowan and Morris of Rutherglen, as Casella seeks to build up its assets and holdings of fortified wines”.
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