The Grapevine: Wine industry updates from South Australia
In the debut edition of The Grapevine, Accolade becomes Vinarchy, the CEO of Australian Vintage departs (again) and SA exports to China crack $800 million one year after tariffs were removed.
- Jacob’s Creek owner forms Vinarchy
- Craig Garvin departs Australian Vintage (again)
- SA wine exports to China crack $800 million
Jacob’s Creek owner forms Vinarchy
A consortium led by investor group Bain Capital which owns Australian Wine Holdco Limited has announced the formation of Vinarchy via the merger of Accolade Wines and the Australian, New Zealand and Spanish wine businesses formerly owned by Pernod Ricard.
AWL acquired Accolade in 2024, and announced it would merge the business – which owns Jacob’s Creek, Orlando Wines, St Hugo and more – with Pernod Ricard in July last year.
Vinarchy will be one of the world’s largest wine businesses with more than $1.5 billion in annual net sales revenue, AWL said.
It will own 11 wineries in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Spain, producing more than 32 million cases annually. The group’s portfolio includes Berri Estates, the largest winery in the Southern Hemisphere.
Wine brands owned by Vinarchy include Hardys, Campo Veijo and Jacob’s Creek. Between them, AWL said the brands achieved consumer sales of more than $2 billion in 2024.
In New Zealand, Vinarchy owns Stoneleigh, Brancott Estate and Mud House, while other Australian brands include Grant Burge, Jam Shed, Petaluma, St Hugo, St Hallett, Orlando, Church Rd, Ysios and Tarsus.
AWL said the merged entity’s name combined ‘Vin’ (the French word for wine) with ‘Archy’ (from the Ancient Greek word for leadership).
“We believe Vinarchy can lead the future of the wine category,” said Vinarchy executive chairman Ben Clarke, who held a similar role at Accolade since September 2024.
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“We will be a dedicated wine company, with scale, capability, reach, resources, talent and an exceptional portfolio of leading brands.
“We want to redefine wine.”
He said the global wine industry was facing “serious structural challenges” such as a decline in wine consumption globally and changing consumer preferences.
“Vinarchy will be bold and imaginative in meeting these challenges,” he said.
“With our enhanced scale, brand investment program, innovation capability and industry-leading talent, we believe we can meet many of the challenges that the industry faces.
“I’m excited to be joined at Vinarchy by more than 1600 colleagues around the globe. We will be an agile, high-performance organisation.”
Vinarchy said Pernod Ricard would continue to distribute the former Pernod Ricard Winemakers portfolio under transitional distribution agreements for a period of time to support a smooth transition.
Further, Accolade Wines employees will transition to the new business from their current roles, with a majority of Pernod Ricard Winemakers employees also joining Vinarchy.
A CEO is being sought, with the board expected to formalise an appointment “shortly”.
Craig Garvin departs Australian Vintage (again)
Australian Vintage’s portfolio of wine brands includes the likes of McGuigan, Nepenthe, and Barossa Valley Wine. Photo: Australian Vintage.
The revolving door of CEOs at Adelaide-based Australian Vintage continues to spin, with Craig Garvin stepping down from the job seven months after being re-appointed.
Garvin was named CEO of Australian Vintage in October last year – the second time he’d been appointed to the role, having been terminated from the position in May 2024.
Garvin was sacked last year with the board at the time claiming he engaged in conduct that “displayed a lack of judgment and was inconsistent with the values of the company and the high standards expected of its Chief Executive Officer”.
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But Garvin was welcomed back by the Australian Vintage board in October, with the new leaders of the company noting a review had been undertaken into his May 2024 termination.
On Tuesday, Australian Vintage – which owns Nepenthe, McGuigan, Tempus Two and Passion Pop – announced Garvin would again step down “having put Australian Vintage in a stronger position to accelerate strategy” following a “difficult 2024”.
“The board appreciates the transformational leadership that Craig has brought to Australian Vintage over many years,” chairman James Williamson said.
“This started with Craig taking the company from a family business to a major player in the Australian wine industry. He returned last year to support the board with a plan to stabilise the company during a difficult 2024 and ensure we had a first-class leadership team in place for the longer term.
“We are now better positioned as a result of his leadership, including having a clear succession plan in place.”
Garvin will be replaced by Australian Vintage chief commercial officer Tom Dusseldorp.
“This is the right time to pass the baton to the next generation of leadership at Australian Vintage,” Garvin said.
SA wine exports to China crack $800 million
Wine exports have seen major increases following the removal of tariffs by China. Photo: Unsplash
New Wine Australia data shows South Australian exports to China were valued at $836.6 million in the one-year period since tariffs on Australian wine were lifted by the Asian giant.
The total value of South Australian wine exports was $1.4 billion, with the state’s second-largest export market being Hong Kong ($116 million, down from $246 million the year prior).
Total Australian wine exports to mainland China exceeded $1 billion one year after the removal of tariffs, meaning South Australian wine was the bulk of what China bought in the year to March 2025.
Australian wine exports increased by 41 per cent in value to $2.64 billion and by 6 per cent in volume.
“The increase in average value is mainly due to the elevated level of premium wine shipments to mainland China, after tariffs on Australian bottled wine were removed at the end of March 2024,” Wine Australia market insights manager Peter Bailey said.
“The 12 months ended March 2025 represented a full year’s worth of exports to mainland China since the tariffs were eliminated – resulting in 96 million litres of exports to the market, valued at $1.03 billion.
“While the total value of shipments to mainland China is now at a similar level to the years immediately before tariffs on Australian bottled wine came into force, volume in the last 12 months is 23 per cent smaller than the 5-year average between 2016 and 2020 and 44 per cent below the peak in 2018.”
By wine varietal, Shiraz is South Australia’s top export, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Blend, Shiraz Blend and Cabernet Sauvignon Blend.
