For many including your correspondent, the news in June that Pernod-Ricard, owners of Jacob's Creek, was to close and sell off the stocks of Morris of Rutherglen hurt more than the announcement from Treasury Wine Estates late last year that it was shutting the doors of Seppelt Great Western. The venerable wine producer, established in 1859, is of considerable cultural and vinicultural significance to both its region and the country.

As recently as a few weeks ago, bidders were circling to assess the old reserves of fortifieds at the Victoria winery, still managed by fifth-generation winemaker David Morris. But then in stepped John Casella of Riverina-based Casella Family Brands to save the Morris family and winery staff the ignominy of corporate asset-stripping.