Treasury to shut Rosemount Estate winery

Troubled drinks giant Treasury Wine Estates is to shut its Ryecroft winery in Australia’s McLaren Vale, where Rosemount Estate wines are made, as part of a cost-cutting initiative.

As reported by The Sydney Morning Herald, the move will lead to 33 job losses at the winery, which is predominantly used to produce Rosemount Estate wines from local grapes.

Rosemount will continue to be produced from other wineries in South Australia. Staff at Ryecroft, which dates back to the late 19^th century, were informed of the closure this morning by TWE executives.

The move forms part of new CEO Mike Clarke’s drive to breathe life back into the business by cutting costs in the supply chain.

“The decision to stop operating Ryecroft winery was an extremely difficult one,” said Treasury’s director of wine production in Australasia, Peter Taylor.

With Ryecroft having operated at around half of its production capacity for several years, Taylor described the situation as “unsustainable”.

“Rosemount wines previously made at Ryecroft will continue to source their fruit from McLaren Vales and surrounding regions, the only change is the location where the wine will be made,” Taylor said.

TWE will continue to run a Rosemount cellar door in McLaren Vale.

Among the best-known brands in the Treasury portfolio are Penfolds, Wolf Blass and Lindemans.

Last week, a collection of Penfolds Grange spanning every vintage it was made from 1951 to 2010 went on sale at fine wine store Le Clos in Dubai for £358,596.