Image courtesy House of Arras Facebook.

Family-owned Australian wine producer Handpicked Wines announced yesterday that it had reached an agreement with Accolade Wines to acquire House of Arras.

The transaction includes the brand, 24 hectares of premium vineyards, inventory and the Bay of Fires winery and cellar door at Pipers River, Tasmania.

“House of Arras is a globally celebrated sparkling house and we are honoured to become the custodians of this admired brand and uphold its tradition of winemaking excellence,” said William Dong, founder and CEO, Handpicked.

“Handpicked Wines shares in House of Arras’ continued success as a highly acclaimed wine producer, representing great synergy to our combined portfolio of luxury brands. We look forward to working with Ed Carr and the team to bring Australia’s most awarded sparkling wine to the world.”

Peter Dillon, chief winemaker at Handpicked expressed his enthusiasm over the deal.

“Ed Carr is one of Australia’s most respected winemakers and I’m excited to work with him through Arras and with the network of Tasmania’s best sparkling growers and vineyards,” said Dillon.

Accolade CEO Robert Foye also commented on the sale.

“We wish the new owners every success and are pleased to be entrusting Arras to a company with extensive experience in fine wine that is well-placed to take the business to the next stage of its evolution.

“Whilst we remain incredibly proud of the success of Arras, it is a luxury brand that does not fit neatly with the rest of our portfolio focus areas at this time.

“Our focus is on locking in Accolade Wines recent success in major markets and concentrating our efforts on our successful commercial and masstige brands with global reach.”

Under the terms of the sale, Accolade has entered into a long-term agreement to continue to produce and bottle all House of Arras brands under contract with Handpicked Wines.

The grapes will continue to be sourced and pressed in Tasmania and the wines will be made at existing facilities in the Accolade network, including Torresans in Woodside, South Australia, which will continue being a key third party location for traditional method tirage and bottling.

Accolade is retaining its other premium Tasmanian brands Eddystone Point and Bay of Fires, which will continue to be made at the same site under contract with Handpicked Wines.

The completion date of the sale will occur before the end of November.

Accolade Wines were advised by Grant Samuel and Thomson Geer on this transaction.

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