Seppelt great western closure

[simon1980]

Cloth ears, this is indeed excellent. I particularly liked the comment about the "mythical Drumborg Riesling". My understanding is mythical means either "a story" or "fictitious". This doesn't appear to apply to a $25 wine that can be found in any Dans. It does however summarise the TWE RRP pricing strategy pretty nicely.

[Michael McNally]

I saw an article in the Australian (so it must be true) that TWE were going to focus on 'regional champions' or some such malarkey to improve their position in the premium wine market. The picture was a little grainy so I am unsure, but guessing from the labels and the focus on regional varieties I am guessing the nine wines were:

Saltrams No 1 Barossa Valley Shiraz
Leo Buring Clare Valley Riesling
Baileys of Glenrowan Rutherglen ????? (Muscat?) hard to see
T'Gallant Mornington Peninsula Pinot Gris/Grigio/ sauv Blanc??
Devil's Lair Margaret River Chardonnay
Seppelts St Peter's Shiraz
Heemskirk Sparkling
Coldstream Hills Yarra Valley Pinot Noir
St Huberts Yarra Valley Cabernet Merlot

Pretty scary that they said their first strategy was to "ramp up production" for these labels!

That's why they get the big bucks.

Cheers

Michael

[Waiters Friend]

I saw an article in the Australian (so it must be true) that TWE were going to focus on 'regional champions' or some such malarkey to improve their position in the premium wine market. The picture was a little grainy so I am unsure, but guessing from the labels and the focus on regional varieties I am guessing the nine wines were:

Saltrams No 1 Barossa Valley Shiraz
Leo Buring Clare Valley Riesling
Baileys of Glenrowan Rutherglen ????? (Muscat?) hard to see
T'Gallant Mornington Peninsula Pinot Gris/Grigio/ sauv Blanc??
Devil's Lair Margaret River Chardonnay
Seppelts St Peter's Shiraz
Heemskirk Sparkling
Coldstream Hills Yarra Valley Pinot Noir
St Huberts Yarra Valley Cabernet Merlot

Pretty scary that they said their first strategy was to "ramp up production" for these labels!

That's why they get the big bucks.

Cheers

Michael

You're right in some respect Michael. However I suspect your list of Champions will be a little different from reality. They wil continue to push these labels, without necessarily producing them from the establishments that they currently do. It will be interesting whether 'Seppelt Great Western' is the same as 'Seppelt Karadoc'.

[sjw_11]

In the picture, the Baileys of Glenrowan wine is a classic muscat

Indeed, a scary approach:
"We are determined to deliver value growth from our regional gems. Our ambition is to export 50% of our regional gems, and we have increased the Australian vintage intake for these brands by approximately 40% this year to help realise their potential," said Sim.

[Rory]

If I am Correct, T'Gallant is on the market.

[swirler]

That was a quite a while ago IIRC.

Google tells me they were going to sell....now they're keeping and promoting them as one of their regional heroes.

[Ian S]

In the picture, the Baileys of Glenrowan wine is a classic muscat

Indeed, a scary approach:
"We are determined to deliver value growth from our regional gems. Our ambition is to export 50% of our regional gems, and we have increased the Australian vintage intake for these brands by approximately 40% this year to help realise their potential," said Sim.

Well I certainly won't be buying them - prior to this debacle I would definitely have been a buyer of Seppelt (not that most wines ever made it over here through official channels) and Baileys and Leo Buring, and I've been known to buy a little Saltram as well. From the marketing bluster, it seems these are now brands to be brand managed, and as such, I can't trust what's in the bottle will reflect what the good name is based on. Plenty of other options out there that I can rely on.

[Ozzie W]

Some great news! TWE has reversed their decision to close the Seppelt cellar door.

http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/agribu ... 17b82c68c1

[swirler]

Great news. Wonder if it's still for sale and they're just doing this while it's still owned by them.

[Sean]

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[swirler]

I also had a cynical thought that they might keep a cellar door, so that the Seppelt "winery" still gets the WET rebate under the new rules.

You might well be right.

[Sigmamupi]

I also had a cynical thought that they might keep a cellar door, so that the Seppelt "winery" still gets the WET rebate under the new rules.

You might well be right.

There are grouping provisions for the WET producer rebate so TWE as a whole has access only to one amount of rebate (currently $500 000 per financial year). Whether Seppelts has a cellar door or not is completely irrelevant in relation to producer rebate eligibility.

[Sean]

deleted

[Cactus]

I think this is short sighted. Good for near term earnings but will not prove to be a wise move and will do long term damage to the brand.

Quick question. What does this mean for Wynns? Are wines still going to be made there? Any other wineries affected?

[swirler]

I agree that big business have a big say in government policy.

I'm think TWE are *cough* guessing the fine print of the new laws and *cough* guess that having a cellar door will be sufficient to obtain WET rebate. They are a business and profits come first.

[Ian S]

Just heard they are going to introduce Blossom Hill brand to Australia, using Aussie grapes.

[snarky mode] Well at least we know now what they will be doing with the Seppelt grapes [/snarky mode]

It really is time to stop buying their wines.