Houghton winery set to shut Swan Valley winery in move to Nannup

WA’s oldest wine producer Houghton is likely to shut its historic winery and cellar in the Swan Valley.

An internal review of Houghton’s operations by its parent company Accolade Wines is expected to recommend that all production be moved to the newer Nannup winery in the South West and that the historic cellar door in Middle Swan, which dates to the earliest days of winemaking in WA, be sold.

It is not clear whether a lease-back of the cellar door would be considered to continue to give Houghton a shopfront in the Swan Valley. The cellar, which is rich in history including as the site of the capture of notorious bushranger Moondyne Joe, is one of the most popular tourist locations in the Swan Valley.

The Swan Valley winery crushes about 2700 tonnes, and Nannup, located closer to the main sources of Houghton’s grapes in Frankland River and Margaret River, about 4500 tonnes.

It is likely that most of the winemakers who have been responsible for producing scores of trophies and gold medals at national wine shows will be made redundant after next year’s vintage. It is unclear whether the review will also consider moving additional production to the Eastern States, where some WA wine is already processed.

Accolade Wines, a global wine company with a string of brands in Australia, confirmed yesterday that “it is reviewing its operational footprint in WA” but that the “review does not impact any of the company’s local brands”.

The review is part of an Australia-wide review of Accolade’s winemaking and production facilities. The famous Knappstein winery in South Australia’s Clare Valley is also expected to be affected. It is understood that declining demand for some WA brands has resulted in both facilities running about half capacity.

Employees at both sites have been told of possible outcomes.