• Emu Wine Company (inc Houghton & Valencia in WA) acquired by Thomas Hardy & Sons Pty Ltd
• Hollydene Hunter Valley acquired by Wyndham Estate
• Penfolds Wines (Aust) Ltd acquired by Tooth & Company (Aust)
• Reynella Wines Pty Ltd acquired by Rothmans of Pall Mall (Aust)

• Lindemans Wines was sold to Adelaide Steamship Group by Philip Morris (USA). Adelaide Steamship Group was already the owner of Penfolds Wines. Their existing brands consisting of Penfolds, Kaiser Stuhl, Tollana, Wynns, Seaview, Tulloch and Killawarra were now joined by the Lindemans, Leo Buring, Rouge Homme and Matthew Lang wine brands
• Late in 1990, the newly combined Penfolds Wines and Lindemans Wines entities were sold to South Australian Brewing Holdings (SABH), by Adelaide Steamship Group. South Australian Brewing Holdings already owned the Seppelt, Woodley’s and Hungerford Hill wineries
• Cape Mentelle sold a percentage of the winery to LVMH Moet Hennessy, by owner and founder David Hohen
• Brands Laira sell 50% stake to the McWilliams Wine Group from the Brand Family
• Cockatoo Ridge Wine brand created and launched by a Geoff Merrill led consortium

[IMAGE] Slide donated by the Australian Wine & Brandy Corporation. Image supplied by the John Fornachon Memorial Library and reproduced with permission.

• Coldstream Hills was sold to Southcorp by founder, and wine writer James Halliday
• Yalumba’s fortified wine brands, Directors Special and Galway Pipe, together with its fortified wine stock, were sold to Mildara Blass Limited by S. Smith and Son, Yalumba
• Yarra Ridge was sold to Mildara Blass Limited by founder Louis Bialkower
• Ingoldby was sold to Mildara Blass Limited by the Ingoldby family
• Petaluma Limited lists on the ASX, brands include Petaluma, Croser, Knappstein, Stonier and Oregon winery Argyl
• Brands Laira remaining 50% share sold to McWilliams by the Brand Family
• Rochecombe Vineyards sold to Josef Chromy via a receiver’s sale. Josef Chromy established the Heemskerk Wine Group including Jansz and Heemskerk
• Thurk Station, a 1600 HA pastoral holding on Kingston on Murray sold to BRL Hardy by the Langdon Family. BRL Hardy quickly developed the site into a vineyard and Cellar Door, naming it Banrock Station, and launching the brand internationally.
• Normans merge with Australian Wine Industries and list on the ASX
• Saltram was sold to The Rothbury Estate by Canadian company Joseph E. Seagram & Sons

• United States listed wine company Beringer was bought by Foster’s Brewing Limited. It was merged into Foster’s-owned Mildara Blass Limited and the entity renamed Beringer Blass Wine Estates. (BBWE)
• Southcorp, ASX listed, purchased Rosemount Estate from the Robert Oatley family in a cash and share transaction and merged the two businesses into a portfolio that included, Penfolds, Rosemount, Lindemans, Rouge Homme, Leo Buring, Wynns, Tollana, Kaiser Stuhl, Seppelt, Killawarra, Woodley’s, Seaview, Ryecroft, Hungerford Hill, Coldstream Hills, Tulloch and Devils Lair
• Mitchelton sold to Petaluma Limited by the Valmorbida Family
• Banksia Wines, ASX listed, bought by the Lion Nathan Group, wineries inc. St Halletts, Tatachilla and Hillstowe
• Petaluma Limited, ASX listed, bought by the Lion Nathan Group, via a hostile takeover, wineries and brands inc. Petaluma, Croser, Mitchelton, Knappstein, Stonier, Bridgewater Mill and US winery Argyle. The Lion Nathan Group then merged the two business’s together and joined the preexisting brands into one portfolio
• Yellowtail wine label created by Adelaide graphic designer, Barbara Harkness, purchased from her by the Casella winemaking family. They established a range of wines under the Yellowtail brand, which was launched in the United States. The Yellowtail brand is now recognised as the single most powerful Australian wine brand in the world, both by volume and value.
• Pipers Brook Ltd was sold to the Kreglinger Company of Belgium via a friendly takeover and delists from the ASX
• Tulloch brand name and winery was sold back to the Tulloch Family by Southcorp
• Oakridge Estate sold to Evans and Tate by founders, the Zitzlaff family
• Wingara Wine Group, owners of Deakin Estate, Katnook Estate, Riddoch and Crackerjack brands, sell majority ownership stake to Freixenet Spanish Co. by David Yunghanns
• Xanadu Wines listed on the ASX, Normans, Clarendon Estate and The Next Generation brands are included in the portfolio
• Lalla Rookh Estate was sold to Jackson Family Wines by the founding Smart family and renamed Yangarra Estate
• Dromana Estate list on the ASX as Dromana Estate Limited

[IMAGE] Photographed by Bryce Rankine. © AWRI. Image supplied by the John Fornachon Memorial Library and reproduced with permission.

• BRL Hardy (ASX listed) was bought by United States listed company Constellation Brands, creating the largest international wine business by volume. The entity was renamed The Hardy Wine Company and delisted from the ASX
• Peter Lehmann Wines majority stake purchased by The Hess Group of Switzerland via a friendly takeover on the ASX. Peter Lehmann Wines then delists from the ASX. The Lehmann family remain shareholders alongside the Hess family
• Tamar Ridge was sold to Gunns Limited by the founder Josef Chromy
• T’Gallant was sold to Mildara Blass Limited by founders Kevin McCarthy and Kathleen Quealy
• The Long Flat wine brand, as well as bottled and bulk stock were sold to ASX listed Cheviot Bridge Wines by the Tyrrell’s family