Henschke joins Liberty Wines portfolio

One of Australia’s leading fine wine producers, Henschke, has appointed Liberty Wines to be its new UK agent.

Part of Enotria&Coe’s portfolio for the last decade, the Eden Valley-based winery has moved over to Liberty as of this year.

Stephen Henschke commented: “We have had a long history of selling our wines to customers in the UK going back to the mid-1980s, leading the fine-wine story from Australia. We would like to thank Enotria&Coe for their hard work over the last decade establishing a strong base for Henschke in the UK. We are confident that Liberty Wines’ expertise with Australian wines and its broad customer base will enable us to build on our success to date.”

With a history stretching back 150 years, the winery’s two most famous vineyard sites, Hill of Grace and Mount Edelstone, are cornerstones of Australia’s fine wine offering and extremely regarded and sought-after by collectors and connoisseurs.

All the vineyards are managed biodynamically, with Stephen’s wife Prue Henschke (who is a viticulturist) a firm believer in biodiversity and re-introducing native plant species.

David Gleave MW, managing director of Liberty Wines, added: “Henschke is a world-class addition to our premium Australia portfolio, perfectly complementing our existing South Australia producers and strengthening our offering from the Eden Valley. Prue and Stephen’s firm commitment to quality, sustainability and innovation, combined with their wealth of very old, low-yielding vines, is giving wines of exceptional quality, which we look forward to selling. It is also nice to see that the future of the estate is in safe hands as the next generation – winemaker Johann, marketer Justine and ambassador Andreas – is now actively involved in the family business.”

Unfortunately, one of its main vineyards – ‘Lenswood’ – was very badly damaged in the fires that have ripped through the Australian region.

Sheds, machinery and equipment were destroyed and Lenswood requires a huge replanting programme.

Ways you can help

Wine lovers are being encouraged to buy up remaining stocks of wines from affected regions. In addition, many Adelaide Hills wineries have organised their own fundraising initiatives.

Industry body Adelaide Hills Wine Region has now set up an official Go Fund Me page to support those wineries affected.

You can find the link here.