Accolade Wines has completed a deal to acquire Barossa Valley based Grant Burge Wines

FIFTH generation winemaker Grant Burge will act a as a brand ambassador after signing off on a multi-million dollar deal to sell his Barossa Valley wine business.

Giuseppe Tauriello

less than 2 min read

February 1, 2015 - 9:00PM

FIFTH generation winemaker Grant Burge will act as a brand ambassador after signing off on a multi-million dollar deal to sell his Barossa Valley wine business to Accolade Wines.

The companies announced in December that they had reached a conditional agreement, with the deal being finalised on Friday night.

Accolade, the nation’s biggest producer by volume, is understood to have paid more than $50 million for the Grant Burge Wines business, including the Grant Burge brand, Burge and Rathbone Fine Wine Merchants business and the Krondorf Winery at Tanunda.

Grant and Helen Burge, who founded Grant Burge Wines in 1988, said the deal would offer strong international exposure for the brands.

“We have a really strong business domestically, but we know Accolade Wines wants to also grow the business internationally, and they have the platform to do that,” Mr Burge said.

“They know that the Barossa is one of the best Australian wine regions and we are amongst the best known Barossa brands.”

Reynella-based Accolade has been seeking a base in the Barossa after selling its 50 per cent equity stake in Barossa Valley Estate in 2011.

Asia Pacific general manager Michael East said Mr Burge would play an important role as brand ambassador and would continue to supply premium fruit to the business.

“Grant Burge Wines has five generations of Barossa pedigree and has consistently delivered wines of the highest calibre in a number of different categories, including sparkling, premium

white and red wines and fortified wines,” he said.

“As we have done with the other brands, we see this as an opportunity to grow the brand even further globally through our distribution network across 112 countries.”

Accolade’s portfolio includes Leasingham, Houghton and the Hardys brand - of which Bill Hardy is an ambassador.

The deal follows last year’s $57 million sale of the Barossa’s Peter Lehmann Wines to Casella Wines.