Leasing out inherited Vineyard, where to start?

Hey all,

My siblings and I inherited our family home which is on 40 acres located in Central Victoria a few yars ago. The property includes two dwellings and a 15 acre vineyard (shiraz, cab sav, Merlot).

We've decided to keep the property and my siblings and nephews live there. Now that it appears the drought may be finally breaking and the dams are full, we're now trying to figure out what we should do with the Vineyard and several thousand bottles of wine.

None of us have expertise in wine/vineyards so we agree that the logcal thing to do would be leasing out the vineyard. Does anyone have any tips on where we should start? Maybe just start contacting other local Vineyards?

Thanks!

Comments

  • +5

    Contact a rural real estate agent. If you look up local ones that have listed vineyards currently and past they're probably where you should start.

  • Maybe just start contacting other local Vineyards?

    This would be the first thing I'd do.

    You'll get a feel for the current market and land values and a local may be interested in either leasing or even purchasing.

    • Unfortunately the property can't be sub divided and my siblings live there, so we're only interested in leasing, ideally a long term lease.

      We've had two people interested so far, but they've not worked out as the vineyard turned out to be larger than they had realised.

  • Where in central Victoria? 15 Acres is a fair bit of vine to look after and it may be a bit tricky to lease it out.

    • In Tallarook. Yeah 15 acres is too much for us to look after and we don't really have the time/interest, however we want to keep the family home/property. Requires one person part time at keast to keep it producing when my dad had it up and running.

  • +7

    what we should do with the Vineyard and several thousand bottles of wine.

    Next OzBargain meet up sorted.

    • +1

      Haha 🤣

  • +4

    I assume near Heathcote?

    Speak to nearby commercial vineyards and ask if they are interested in farm sharing. Negotiate for them to care for and pick the vines but you get a % of the final product value.

    It's can be a win win if you're lucky. They don't have the extra overheads of rates etc and you get a financial gain without doing any work.

    I operate in a similar situation to the above and both parties are very happy.

    • We're in Tallarook so not too far away. Yeah I think I may spend next week reaching out to other vineyards. Hopefull we can find someone who'll also be interested in taking our wine stocks too which are from 2007, 2008 & 2009 and unlabelled.

  • Don't forget to advertise at local GP Clinics. Doctors are always wanting to dabble in vinyards and wineries - its a right of passage for them. I think it combines tax minimization with brag rights at the 19th hole.

  • Check if your local council has a "Business Support" section. Mine has. Their aim is to support local businesses, provide info on training to grow businesses, info on business incubators, host events, and provide networking opportunities. Maybe through this, you can get some info on how to proceed, or provide you leads to interested parties.

  • Fancy giving us an update for those of us following the journey over past 1.5 years? Any opportunities we can get into?

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