Strong interest in Yarra Yering winery

Approximately 30 enquiries have already been made about Yarra Yering, the super-premium Yarra Valley winery which is currently up for sale.

The world-renowned winery has been put on the market following the death last September of founder, Dr Bailey Carrodus.

The sale is being handled by co-executor Jeremy Pascoe, a long-time friend of Carrodus who said that interest had been shown from Australia, England, France, Canada, Singapore and Hong Kong.

The deadline for tenders looks likely to be mid-May.

Yarra Yering was founded in 1969 and in 1973 produced the first commercial vintage in the Yarra Valley since 1922.

'It's the prime site in the valley,' Pascoe said.

Yarra Yering has 36.4ha, of which 26.4ha are planted to low-yielding vines, mainly Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz but with small areas of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Merlot and Viognier and several Portuguese varieties.

It has a three-level, 150-tonne winery which can produce up to 7,000 cases a year.

General Manager, Tim Hampton, said that small-batch production was the key to Yarra Yering's super-premium status.

About 70% of production is exported, mainly to the UK, Europe, the US and, increasingly, Asian countries.

Noted for their intensity of flavour and for being long-lived, Yarra Yering's wines sell at the cellar door for between AUS$75 and AUS$150 a bottle except for an entry level AUS$35 wine.