Aaron Drummond says the significance of taking responsibility for a place like Seppelt is not lost on him and the new co-owners.
“To bring Seppelt back into local family ownership, and to restore these remarkable old vineyards and historic cellars, is an incredible privilege,” he says.
Aaron, CEO and co-owner of Stonier winery and partners have acquired the historic Victorian producer Seppelt from Treasury Wine Estates (TWE).
The acquisition includes the Seppelt brand, Great Western winery, Great Western vineyards, as well as the cool climate Drumborg vineyard.
The acquisition marks a new chapter for one of the most important names in Australian wine – and returns Seppelt Great Western to local family ownership.
The Seppelt family began what would become one of the great legacies of Australian wine in 1851.
In 1918, the family expanded into Victoria with the acquisition of the Great Western vineyards and cellars from Hans Irvine.
Irvine had already established Great Western as one of Victoria’s most important wine estates and Australia’s first sparkling house.
In 1890 he pioneered sparkling wine production at Great Western winning prizes in Bordeaux and Paris in 1900 for his Sparkling, the first Australian sparkling to do so.
For more than 100 years the cellars at Great Western remained Australia’s most important sparkling house.
The coming together of Seppelt and Great Western brought together two great forces in Australian wine.
What followed was an extraordinary period of innovation, ambition and fine wine production that helped shape the Australian wine industry for much of the 20th century.
The Seppelt family ultimately sold the business to SA Brewing in the 1980s and, through a series of subsequent ownership changes, Seppelt eventually became part of Treasury Wine Estates.
Beyond its pioneering role in Australian sparkling wine, Seppelt Great Western became an important force in the emergence of Australian fine wine, particularly during the 1930s and 1940s under the guidance of legendary winemaker Colin Preece.
“There is more than 160 years of winemaking history at Great Western and generations of extraordinary wine people have passed through these cellars, so there is so much to build on,” Aaron says.
“Great Western has an extraordinary ability to produce distinctive, long-lived Shiraz, exemplified by St Peters and Show Sparkling Shiraz, while Drumborg is one of Australia’s great cool-climate vineyards, with an exceptional track record for Sparkling wine as well as Riesling, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
“As we have done at Stonier, our starting point will be putting the love back into these old vineyards, great winemaking and fine wine distribution.”
The new winemaking team will bring together two highly regarded Australian winemakers: Dan Buckle, former chief winemaker at Domaine Chandon and Mount Langi Ghiran, and Julian Grounds, chief winemaker at Stonier and formerly of Craggy Range.
Recent Comments