Casella is the family behind Yellow Tail and Peter Lehmann Wines. The 17,297 acres of vineyards are in South Australia and New South Wales. The proposed sale represents about 4% of Australia’s entire vineyard properties.
John Casella, managing director, said any sale proceeds will be reinvested in the company’s wineries and wine brands. The sales are intended to position the company for future sucess, he said, adding that the company will continue to buy fruit from those and other properties.
“The company is in a sound financial position, having recently experienced global record sales for [yellow tail] during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said managing director John Casella, who took over Casella Family Brands in 1994 from his parents Filippo and Maria Casella.
“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.”
Some of the motivation might be related to the fact that the ongoing tariff dispute between Australia and China has led to million of grapes rotting at vineyards across the country. China was once Australia’s principal wine export market. But that market has shrunk 97% in exceedingly high tariffs were imposed in 2020. Total export of Australian wine fell 26% in the year to March 2022. But outside of China, sales grew 7%, and reached the hihest value since 2010.