As the gutted shell of Xanadu Wines, the renamed Global Wine Ventures, considers its options, the Rathbone family is moving quickly to re-establish founder Dr John Lagan’s vision of Xanadu as a premium Margaret River wine and tourism icon.
As the gutted shell of Xanadu Wines, the renamed Global Wine Ventures, considers its options, the Rathbone family is moving quickly to re-establish founder Dr John Lagan’s vision of Xanadu as a premium Margaret River wine and tourism icon.
The Victorian family had been eyeing a wine acquisition in the Margaret River region for about two years before crippling bank debt forced Xanadu onto the market.
The Rathbone family, headed by agricultural chemicals company Nufarm CEO Doug Rathbone, already had three other wineries collectively producing about 140,000 cases a year.
Xanadu founder Dr John Lagan has met the Rathbones and likes the future strategy – a repositioning of Xanadu wines on the Australian and international map, based on high quality within a family company structure.
“It’s how it was and how it should have remained,” Dr Lagan told WA Business News.
Doug Rathbone’s eldest son Darren played a major role in expanding the family’s first winery and Victoria’s oldest, Yering Station in Victoria’s Yarra Valley, from less than 10,000 cases a year to 80,000 cases a year, while creating a major tourist attraction in the process.
Production from Mt Langi Ghiran, also in Victoria, has been increased by 10,000 cases a year to 50,000 cases a year since 2002 and the prestigious Parker Estate, in South Australia’s famed Coonawarra and acquired in 2004, produces about 10,000 cases a year.
These production levels are all well down on Xanadu’s envisaged production of 250,000 cases a year, its actual production of about 100,000 cases a year, with the Rathbones now targeting up to 80,000 cases a year.
Xanadu Wines’ new brand manager, Natalie Schaefer, said current plans were to keep Xanadu’s popular Secession brand, retailing around $15 a bottle, lift the Xanadu range to around $25 a bottle and bring in a new, super premium reserve range to be produced occasionally from only best varieties and vintages.
The as-yet-unnamed reserve range “will only be produced in exceptional circumstances,” Ms Schaefer said.
The retention of these lines is based on the Rathbone view that it is easier to rebuild the Xanadu brand rather than launch a new one.
Adelaide-based Global Wine Ventures has plans to develop a super premium wine brand and is eyeing potential vineyard acquisitions in South Australia next year.
The company’s main focus, however, is clearing about $4 million of remaining debt over the next six months.
GWV managing director Sam Atkins told the recent annual general meeting the company was still awaiting creditor payments and $1.9 million it was seeking from insurers over last year’s fire at the Xanadu warehouse.
In the wash up to the Xanadu sale, GWV was left with 1.6 million litres of wine, worth about $3.1 million and expected to be sold by June next year, some lesser known brands and about $560,000 in cash.
