Finniss River Vineyard listed by pioneering Hickinbotham family
The Finniss River Vineyard in the Fleurieu region in South Australia has been listed for sale through CBRE agent Phil Schell, in conjunction with fellow agent Chris Holgar.
The Hickinbotham family who established it in 1999 are the vendors of the vineyard located 45 kilometres south-east of McLaren Vale.
Offers are due 11 July.
Its wine grapes produce Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay varieties.
The vineyard produces wine under the Paringa and Finniss River labels.
It also supplies grapes to Orlando Wines in a 17-year agreement.
David Hickinbotham has described the decision to sell the 135 hectare property as bittersweet.
The property comprises 65.37 hectares of grape vines, 5.33 hectares of vacant vineyard with trellis and irrigation infrastructure in place, along with an additional 23.32 hectares of land ready for new vines to be planted.
The vineyard has capacity of 94 hectares, producing 1,000 tonnes of fruit annually.
The Paringa wine label has twice featured in the James Halliday Wine Spectator's highly regarded Top 100 wines list.
The Hickinbotham family has developed the property with a low maintenance structure that requires only two people to run 65 hectares of vines.
“Properties with scale and ease of management such as the Finniss River Vineyard – and the associated Paringa and Finniss River wine brands – will be the future of the viticulture industry in Australia.” he said.
The property comes with a five-bedroom home with tennis court and pool.
The Hickinbotham family, whose involvement dates backs around eighty years in the industry, had three vineyards for many years.
The Clarendon vineyard, established by Alan Hickinbotham in the Adelaide foothills in 1972, providing grapes for Penfold's premium brands including 707 and the legendary Grange, was sold in early 2012.
The Paringa vineyard, developed in the Riverland in 1995, was sold in 2011.
The Paringa vineyard, comprising 690 hectares, ranked as one of the largest private vineyards in Australia.
The Hickinbotham family began exporting wines over 35 years ago with their wines sold by the glass in restaurants in America, including Chartreuse in New York, Citrus in Los Angeles and Aureole in Las Vegas.
Three generations of the Hickinbotham family have been involved with quality vines, grapes and wine since the Oenology Course was established at Roseworthy Agricultural College by Alan Robb Hickinbotham in 1932.
The Hickinbotham Roseworthy Wine Science Laboratory was built at the University of Adelaide's Waite campus in 1998, in honour of Alan Robb Hickinbotham's contribution to the Australian wine industry.