Vinarchy reveals plans for new winery hubs, cellar door closures

Wine giant Vinarchy is shaking up its SA footprint, with a $30m expansion of a flagship winery but also the closure of cellar doors in the Barossa and Riverland.

Winemaking at the Hardys Tintara site will transition to a new production hub at Rowland Flat.

Newly merged wine giant Vinarchy has revealed a shake up of its South Australian wineries and cellar doors, with plans to pump tens of millions of dollars into one of its flagship sites while shutting down cellar doors in the Barossa and Riverland.

The company – formed through the merger of Accolade Wines and Pernod Ricard – will invest $30m to expand its Rowland Flat winery in the Barossa Valley as a “centre of excellence” for its premium and sparking winemaking, with production currently undertaken at the nearby St Hallett winery, and at Hardy’s Tintara in McLaren Vale, transitioning to Rowland Flat for the 2026 and 2027 vintages.

Meanwhile Berri Estates in the Riverland will become the company’s primary commercial winemaking, packaging and warehousing hub.

Other changes planned over the next 12 months include the closures of the Rolf Binder cellar door at Tanunda and the Banrock Station cellar door and restaurant at Kingston on Murray in the Riverland. Vineyard and viticulture operations at the two sites will be unaffected.

The Banrock Station cellar door will close as part of Vinarchy’s restructure of its SA footprint.

Vinarchy chief supply officer Joe Russo said the changes would be rolled out over a 12-month transition period, creating two winemaking hubs in the state and focusing investment at “key cellar door locations”.

“Adopting this twin-hub structure at Berri Estates and Rowland Flat allows us to consolidate our resources and expertise, strengthening the business and ensuring we remain competitive in the face of ongoing challenges in the global wine market,” he said.

“These important changes represent Vinarchy’s commitment to building a stronger winemaking footprint in South Australia.

“Both St Hallett and Hardys are critical brands for Vinarchy and we recognise the rich local history they have in the Barossa and McLaren Vale. While our winemaking will move, our commitment to quality wines, local sourcing and premium cellar door experiences for these brands do not change.

Vinarchy is planning a $30m upgrade of its winery at Rowland Flat.

“These wines will be made with the same grapes from the same regions, by the same winemakers, just at another winery.”

Vinarchy said the long term future of the St Hallett and Hardys winery sites would be worked through as part of the transition.

The merger of Accolade with French drinks giant Pernod Ricard’s wine businesses was formalised in late April, bringing together 11 wineries across Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Spain, including Australian labels Jacob’s Creek, St Hugo, Hardys, Grant Burge and Petaluma.

The company, headquartered in Adelaide, has flagged a restructure of its expanded portfolio as part of a premiumisation push under its flagship labels.

It said workers affected by the cellar door closures and wider restructure in South Australia would be redeployed where possible.

“Where roles are affected, we are committed to supporting our teams through redeployment opportunities to other locations in many cases, or, where necessary, redundancy and outplacement support,” Mr Russo said.

Originally published as Vinarchy reveals plans for new winery hubs, cellar door closures