Australian Vintage sells 1300ha vineyards to agri-investor fund

Australian Vintage Limited has signed a partnership with agriculture investment manager and operator, Warrakirri, for the sale and leaseback of its Coldridge Vineyards in Loxton, South Australia and Grande Junction in Pomona, New South Wales.

AVL received $62.5m for the sale of 1300ha of land and 3700ML of water and have leased the holdings back on an initial ten year agreement.

Together the two properties produce approximately 23K tonnes of wine grapes each year.

CEO Craig Garvan said, "Warrakirri have committed to further enhance and develop the vineyards thereby improving yield output and avoiding a large drain on our own capital resources...

"This deal unlocks significant value from our balance sheet that allows us, in very challenging market conditions, to pay down debt, to continue to invest in our brands, and consider higher margin acquisition opportunities."

Warakirri Farmland Fund was launched in 2021 after securing significant seed funding from one of Europe’s leading pension funds, and is geared to buy, develop and own a diversified portfolio of investment grade agricultural property and lease the assets to high quality agricultural businesses, as Tenant Partners.

Accolade Wines sells off Stonier Wines

Accolade Wines has sold of its Stonier Wines brand to Circe Wines, owned by three local families: the Drummond, McLeod & Thickins families.

The sale includes the Stonier brand, 26 ha of premium vineyards, grower partnerships, winery and cellar door at Merricks, one hour south of Melbourne.

“We are very pleased to see Stonier going back to local families who have a passion for high-quality premium wine,” Accolade Wines Chief Supply Chain Officer, Derek Nicol said.

“While Stonier has a well-deserved reputation for producing premium wine, it is not a brand that Accolade can scale at this time so we have made the strategic decision to divest the asset and reinvest the capital to support our global growth strategy.

Circe co-owner Aaron Drummond, has recently returned to the Mornington Peninsula after eight years as General Manager of New Zealand’s Craggy Range winery.

He said: “I grew up on the Mornington Peninsula with Brian Stonier’s grandchildren, so had a lot of exposure to the wines. They were iconic, and this is where we want to get back to…less volume with a focus on rebuilding on premise here and overseas, great farming, and an aspiration of making some of the region’s best Pinot Noir and Chardonnay”.

The sale was brokered by Savills' Nick Butler and Kath Brassington. The business also brokered the recent sale of Josef Chromy Wines to Endeavour Group.