Vinarchy, the new global wine business formed from the merger of Accolade Wines and Pernod Ricard Winemakers has announced plans to invest in a 12-month transition to strengthen its Australian operational footprint.
As part of this shift, the company will establish two winemaking hubs in South Australia and relocate its global corporate headquarters to Adelaide. Investment will also be focused on key cellar door locations.
A $30m investment aims to transform the Rowland Flat site into a centre of excellence for premium and sparkling wines, supporting advanced viticulture and winemaking techniques.
Berri Estates will serve as Vinarchy’s primary hub for commercial winemaking, packaging, and warehousing. With more than $70m already invested, the state-of-the-art facility is designed to deliver scale, efficiency, and world-class quality to meet growing global demand.
Under the new operating model, winemaking currently conducted at the St Hallett winery in the Barossa and Hardy’s Tintara in McLaren Vale will be transferred to Rowland Flat for the 2026 and 2027 vintages, respectively. Long-term plans for both sites will be developed as part of the transition.
Vinarchy’s Chief Supply Officer, Joe Russo said: “Adopting this twin-hub structure at Berri Estates and Rowland Flat allows us to consolidate our resources and expertise, strengthening the business and ensuring we remain competitive in the face of ongoing challenges in the global wine market.
“These important changes represent Vinarchy’s commitment to building a stronger winemaking footprint in South Australia.
“Both St Hallett and Hardys are critical brands for Vinarchy and we recognise the rich local history they have in the Barossa and McLaren Vale. While our winemaking will move, our commitment to quality wines, local sourcing and premium cellar door experiences for these brands do not change.
“These wines will be made with the same grapes from the same regions, by the same winemakers, just at another winery.”
As Vinarchy focuses its investment behind its primary brands experiences in South Australia it is aiming to maintain a compelling and sustainable cellar door footprint at Jacob’s Creek, St Hugo, Hardys, St Hallett, Grant Burge, Katnook Estate and Petaluma. The investment in these experiences will mean that the Rolf Binder and Banrock Station cellar door and restaurant operations will cease, although vineyard and viticulture operations at these sites will continue.
Russo added: “We are deeply mindful of the impact these changes may have on our people.
“Where roles are affected, we are committed to supporting our teams through redeployment opportunities to other locations in many cases, or, where necessary, redundancy and outplacement support. We will continue to consult closely with our teams over the coming months as we make this transition.”
Vinarchy said it remains committed to its long-standing partnerships with regional suppliers and growers across the Riverland, McLaren Vale, Adelaide Hills, the Barossa and Coonawarra, which will remain unchanged.