Accolade Wines has acquired Chile’s Viña Anakena in a deal which the company says makes it the first business to have a presence in all major New World wine regions.
Accolade Wines, owner of Hardys, Kumala, Geyser Peak and Mud House, paid an undisclosed sum for Anakena’s brands, inventory, winery, vineyard, cellar door and tasting room.
Founded in the late 1990s in the Alto Cachapoal area by friends Felipe Ibáñez and Jorge Gutiérrez, Anakena has an export presence in 50 markets, including the US.
Accolade Wines said it would retain the current management team, including Anakena MD Ricardo Letelier and winemaker Gavin Taylor.
Chairman Nick Greiner said the acquisition meant Accolade now had a presence in every major New World wine-producing area, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, North America and South America.
He added: ‘Our customer knowledge and sophisticated distribution systems will build on Anakena’s foundations, as we did with New Zealand’s Mud House, quickly building it into a million-case brand in the UK.’
Letelier highlighted Accolade’s ‘track record of looking after and growing brands’, while Ibáñez and Gutiérrez said of the deal: ‘As we pass the business onto Accolade, we look forward to seeing the great wines of Anakena available to more consumers in more countries.
‘Bringing Accolade Wines to Chile will be positive for both Anakena and the Chilean wine industry in general.’
This comes after Accolade Wines announced last week they are selling their 50 per cent shareholding in UK drinks distributor Matthew Clark for £100million.
