Leasingham to close in August

Leasingham, one of the first wineries established in the Clare Valley more than 100 years ago, is to be closed down by Constellation Wines Australia at the end of August.

Constellation has already sold off a number of its Australian wineries and vineyards, with a predicted loss of 350 jobs.

It has been looking for a buyer for Leasingham for some time, but a deal has yet to be done.

There is a possibility that a cellar-door operation may be retained at the site, which was set up in 1893, and whose roll call of winemakers includes Tim Adams of Tim Adams Wines, and Neil Paulett, of Paulett Wines in Polish Hill River.

decanter.com reported in May that the majority of the site may be demolished and replaced with housing.

A Constellation spokeswoman said, ‘The winery has been an important part of our business, however this has been substantially underutilised for our Leasingham wine requirements.

‘Whilst there has been interest in this well-equipped 4,500-tonne winery, the currently constricted global economic climate has made it difficult to confirm new ownership.’

She added that Leasingham’s ‘viticultural headquarters’ will move to the Constellation-owned Provis vineyard, and that the company will retain the Leasingham brand.

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Written by Stuart Peskett