Vinarchy, a new global wine group with about R18 billion in annual net sales, has added South Africa to its international portfolio with the addition of Flagstone and Kumala wines.
The conglomerate is the result of a merger between Accolade Wines and Pernod Ricard’s Australian, New Zealand and Spanish wine assets.
At a glance, Vinarchy is the kind of corporate Frankenstein that makes traditionalists twitch: 11 wineries across four continents, more than 1,600 employees, and an empire of brands that includes Hardys, Campo Viejo, Jacob’s Creek, and the Southern Hemisphere’s largest winery, Berri Estates.
Vinarchy’s South African acquisitions are no outlier, as most say international appetite for South African wine estates has been growing in Europe and North America.