Australian Vintage has sold its Nepenthe cellar door and vineyard at Balhannah in the Adelaide Hills to family business Tomich Wines.
It sold for $5 million, according to a report in Adelaide news site InDaily.
Australian Vintage CEO Tom Dusseldorp told InDaily “it is never easy to close a business, but it was the right time for the next chapter of the Nepenthe brand”.
“As wine tourism continues to decline, loss-making cellar doors do not add the value they once did,” he said.
InDaily says Australian Vintage – an ASX-listed company – will keep the Nepenthe brand and has signed a grape supply contract with Tomich for the 2027 vintage.
Adelaide Hills Wine Region president Alex Trescowthick told InDaily the sale was a good outcome.
“AHWR welcomes the news that a strong, local family-owned brand is investing in the future of one of the iconic cellar door and vineyard sites in the Adelaide Hills,” he said.
Nepenthe was established by the Tweddell family – led by Dr Ed Tweddell – in 1994.
The family sold the winery and vineyards to McGuigan Simeon Wines (which became Australian Vintage) in 2007.
Tomich, which has a large vineyard at Woodside in the Hills, was established by surgeon John Tomich.
It is now run by his son, Randal Tomich.
Tomich has a cellar door on King William Road in Unley.
Australian Vintage invested in a big upgrade of the Nepenthe cellar door in 2023.
Other Australian Vintage brands include McGuigan, Poco Vino, Passion Pop and Tempus One.
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