De Bortoli Wines is a third-generation, family-owned winery established near Griffith in 1928.

De Bortoli director Leanne De Bortoli said they had acquired the Rutherglen business from the Hong Kong owners for an undisclosed amount on Thursday.

Ms De Bortoli said the Rutherglen vineyard complemented the family’s existing premium Victorian vineyard holdings in the Yarra Valley, King Valley and Heathcote wine regions.

“The Rutherglen vineyard is sizeable at 185 hectares,” she said.

“It comes with very good water resources; it has an existing vineyard but also with potential to expand.”

Rutherglen Estates gives De Bortoli Wines a third winemaking facility to complement the business’ Riverina and Yarra Valley sites. The proximity to its Riverina operations is an advantage.

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The Rutherglen sale brings the De Bortoli family’s Victorian vineyard holdings to 820 hectares, 700 hectares bearing fruit and 120 hectares in development. 

Ms De Bortoli said the business’ focus at Heathcote and Rutherglen was to produce premium quality red wine predominantly from shiraz and grenache. 

She said varieties such as tempranillo, touriga and durif were ideal for these warmer climates.

“We see huge potential for the Iberian varieties as they do very well in the warmer climates; table wines from varieties such as tempranillo, touriga and durif,” Ms De Bortoli said.

The De Bortoli family’s Victorian vineyards will produce more than seven million bottles of premium Victorian wine by 2025.

The winery’s production headquarters and packing facilities are located at Bilbul, where one of Australia’s most iconic wines, Noble One, is the premier brand.

Rutherglen Estates had been owned by Hong Kong venture Eternity International Enterprise Holdings since 2012. 

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