Treasury Wine Estates sells Clare Valley vineyard to Seppeltsfield

Treasury Wine Estates has sold its Clare Valley winery Quelltaler Estate, where it makes its Annie’s Lane brand, to Seppeltsfield for an undisclosed sum.

As part of the deal, Seppeltsfield will acquire around 900 acres of vineyard and as well as the existing Quelltaler 1,000 tonne winery, as reported by AdelaideNow.com.

The expansion into the Clare Valley follows Seppeltsfield’s purchase of the Ryecroft winery and vineyards in McLaren Vale earlier this year, and also the opening of a AU$75 million château in China in May.

Before the the Annie’s Lane brand was established , the winery was known as Quelltaler Estate, which dates back to 1851, mirroring that of Seppeltsfield Barossa.

Quelltaler was noted in the 1900s for fortified wine and Brandy production, as well as ‘Rhine Rieslings’ and ‘Hock’ under the ownership of H. Buring & Sobels. It was also owned for a period by French company Rémy Martin in the 1980s, before being sold to Wolf Blass in 1987, eventually merging into Southcorp, Foster’s and now Treasury Wine Estates.

The original Quelltaler trademark is included in the deal, however Treasury will retain ownership of the Annie’s Lane brand, which it will continue to produce and distribute.

“After 15 years of difficult times the Australian wine industry is on the rise again; mainly due to the emergence of China as a strong new market for Australian wine,” said Seppeltsfield proprietor and executive chairman, Warren Randall.

“The acquisition of premium viticultural and winemaking assets at this time will support the Seppeltsfield group’s desire to increase its market share in an already rising market.”