The Beechworth wine area with some fifteen established winery businesses is regarded as one of Australia's top emerging wine districts with a number of highly regarded five star wine labels and producers.
After twenty years creating a successful premium winery business the vendors of the fully established Star Lane property are seeking to take a lifestyle change.
An opportunity to acquire a premium vineyard winery and related tourism opportunity is presented with the offer for private sale of the fully established Star Lane integrated winery business at 51 Star Lane at Wooragee.
The freehold single title property of 18.9 hectares or 44.7 acres is equidistant within about twelve kilometers from the two principal north east visitor and residential towns of Beechworth and Yackandandah. Located just off the main connecting highway between these two centers the property is also within easy reach of the recently extended Murray to the Mountains Rail Trail.
The vendors a couple, one being a viticulturist and his wife a qualified winemaker, first purchased the land in 1994 and thereafter set about establishing their vineyard. It is now fully established planted to Shiraz, Merlot and Chardonnay vines over an area of four hectares or ten acres.
It is fully productive, already pruned and set up for the next vintage and is drip irrigated for fertigation, with an overhead frost protection spray system in place. Although rarely needed this system can be used for supplementary precise irrigation if seasonal conditions require.
The property has its own reliable licensed dam of thirty eight megalitres of storage capacity.
A water services shed complete with a diesel engine powered pump and water distribution system across the property is in place.
There is additional shedding for storage, farm machinery and general purposes.
The vines reliable produce a low yielding total of twenty eight to thirty tonnes of quality grapes which have been hand-picked (although machine picking can be an option) and produce premium red and white wines of five star premium calibre.
For instance, the current 2019 vintage Star Lane Shiraz retails at $50 per bottle with most vintages sold out before the next one is released.
The principals have a adjoining large block of soils of a Permian Glaciated type on the property earmarked for further vineyard plantings and have done some initial preparation.
They had in mind additional Chardonnay vines (for which there is local demand for grape purchases from other winemakers at circa $5000 plus a tonne) or even Italian red grape varieties for which there is emerging local interest.
But a real and undoubted asset is the striking winery and cellar door complex of distinctive design.
It is set up for maximum efficiency in handling the grape intake as well as winemaking with all the latest press, pump and tankage facilities. It includes three imported terracotta amphorae for the maturation of premium quality Shiraz and a barrel store.
The vendors believe it has substantial wine making capacity beyond their current thirty tonne per vintage grape harvest, so it can readily handle more grapes or be used as a contract winemaking facility.
Housed in a large capacity clear span and striking, architect designed and modern steel building it includes on an upper level the cellar door, with a balcony from where the vineyard can be viewed.
There is also a fully permitted adjoining commercial kitchen installed with a viewing window where the winery activity below can be seen.
This space has also had limited use for corporate events and community functions.
Adjoining are very attractive gardens and treed areas which have also been used as a wedding venue.
The vendors feel that there is substantial opportunity on the property for tourism development including an expanded cellar door and food opportunity, while there is space available on the forty four acre plus site to create an accommodation offering.
They say "we have been fully committed to building our viticulture and winemaking activities so we have not explored the additional value adding opportunities which we know could be implemented here.
There is a comfortable two bedroom home and outbuildings on the property sited in pleasant treed and garden surrounds which only recently renovated and refurbished provides very comfortable and relaxed family living.
There would be scope within the property to build a new home of an outstanding design if needed by the purchaser while the original home could be retained and used as a manager's residence.
The Star Lane wines are regularly sold out as artisan made premium wines utilising hand-picked fruit, traditional natural or wild yeast fermentation winemaking using natural practices and receiving several years maturation in a stock of French oak barriques.
Both the white (Chardonnay) and red (Shiraz and Merlot) wines regularly sell out to corporate, retail and cellar door clients and have always received five star reviews and recommendations from leading wine commentators.
The Star Lane property is offered on effectively 'a walk in walk out' sales basis inclusive of all winemaking equipment, viticultural and farm machinery and remaining unsold wine stocks in bottle or awaiting bottling, to ensure that the purchaser has a continuing cash flow.
The vendors are prepared to negotiate with the purchaser a hand over management role to deliver a fully functional and continuing winery business.