Yarra Yering winery close to being sold

Yarra Yering, the historic, super-premium Yarra Valley winery, is set to be sold.

Contracts for the sale have been signed with buyers represented by Reid Bosward, chief executive and winemaker of the small, 19-year-old Kaesler Wines in the Barossa Valley.

Bosward would not comment yesterday.

But one prospective buyer said the price would probably have been about AUS$5m.

Yarra Yering was put on the market earlier this year following the death last September of its co-founder, Dr Bailey Carrodus.

Carrodus was largely responsible for the renaissance of the Yarra Valley wine industry. In 1973 he produced the first commercial vintage since 1922 - in a region which had almost disappeared after being a key wine area in the late 1800s.

Yarra Yering is on 36.4ha, of which 26.4ha are vineyards. Located above the frost line it is widely considered to be the prime site in the Yarra Valley.

It has a 150-tonne winery which can produce up to 7,000 cases of wine a year. About 70% of production is exported, mainly to the UK, Europe, the US and Asian countries.

The wines, produced in small batches, are noted for their intensity of flavour and longevity and sell for between AUS$70 and AUS$150 a bottle except for an entry level AUS$35 a bottle range.