AUS: Treasury Wine Estates eyes climate change with vineyard buy

(Just-Drinks) - Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) is to buy a Tasmanian vineyard as it follows through on a pledge to purchase sites in cooler areas because of climate change.

The wine company said today (2 July) that it has signed an agreement to take over the White Hills vineyard from Brown Brothers for an undisclosed fee. The 83-planted-hectare site in the Tamar Valley grows Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer grapes, TWE said.

“The acquisition of White Hills supports TWE’s long term strategy of owning or controlling vineyards that supply grapes for our luxury wine portfolio,” said chief executive David Dearie. “Over the last 18 months we have invested heavily in premium grape and wine production capacity globally, and this is a logical next step.”

The deal is expected to complete at the end of this month.

In April, Dearie said in an interview that his group's acquisition teams were looking at sites in Tasmania. “As the world heats, Tasmania’s very well positioned because of the cooler climate,” Dearie said.