South Australia’s Randall Wine Group (RWG) has become the region’s largest vigneron with the acquisition of four more vineyards in McLaren Vale, totalling 142 hectares.
The RWG executive chairman Warren Randall, owner of Barossa Valley’s Seppeltsfield Estate winery, purchased the vineyards under the Tinlins Wines banner for an undisclosed sum.
The largest of these is the Sellicks Hill vineyard, covering 60 hectares. The four new vineyards are planted to 100 per cent red varieties with 50 per cent planted to Cabernet Sauvignon,
Following the acquisition, it brings RWG’s total vineyard holding across South Australia to 3200 hectares.
Randall is also now the largest vineyard owner in both McLaren Vale and Barossa, with around 750 hectares and 1600 hectares under vine, respectively.
In 2017, Randall entered a joint venture with Minquan Jiuding Wine Company where the company opened a AU$75 million château in China’s Henan province.
Speaking at the Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference (AWITC) in July this year, Randall prompted Australian winemakers to be "China ready" as China drinks over 90 per cent of its total consumption of red wine. China is expected to be the largest consumer of wine in the world, surpassing the United States of America within the next 15 to 20 years.
In a Wine Australia report from October, it revealed Australian wine exports to China have reached a record value of $1.25 billion, an increase of 18 per cent since 2018.
