Jackson Family Wines to continue buying spree
JACKSON FAMILY WINES – which continued its recent buying spree with the purchase of Oregon’s Willakenzie – is on the hunt for more acquisitions, with sights set on Australia.
under group chairman Barbara Banke, the us company now owns 36 wineries around the world, in countries including France, Italy, Australia, Chile and the us. Recent purchases have focused on Oregon (Willakenzie is the company’s fourth winery in the state, where it has a potential 364 hectares of vineyards) but Banke is also looking further afield.
‘I’m particularly but not exclusively excited by Australia, where we already have some top-class wines from Rhône varietals at yangarra and mostly Bordeaux grapes at Hickinbotham in the Clarendon Hills,’ Banke said. Areas of interest include the Barossa Valley, as well as Pinot Noir vineyards in Mornington Peninsula and Tasmania.
southern England could also be a future target. ‘uk bubbles are certainly something I’d like to research,’ Banke said. Italy too is under discussion. ‘At the moment, we only have one winery in Italy – Arcanum in Tuscany. Naturally, I’d love to see something in Piedmont or Bolgheri. Perhaps both.’
In Oregon, Willakenzie is likely to be the last winery acquisition by the company for the time being, although it may consider buying more vineyards. ‘Our focus will continue to be Pinot Noir, but we’re also very excited by Pinot gris, Viognier and Chardonnay too, because we are working on a blanc de blancs sparkling wine project which is extremely promising,’ Banke told Decanter.