Casella Family Brands

AN AUSTRALIAN FAMILY OWNED WINE COMPANY FOUNDED BY FILIPPO AND MARIA CASELLA IN 1969, CASELLA FAMILY BRANDS OFFERS A RANGE OF AUSTRALIAN WINES MADE TO ENHANCE THE JOY OF LIFE, FRIENDSHIP AND FAMILY. THE CASELLA FAMILY’S REMARKABLE JOURNEY HAS TAKEN THEM FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS AND A SMALL HAND-BUILT WINERY, TO BECOME AUSTRALIA’S LARGEST FAMILY OWNED WINE COMPANY AND HOME TO SOME OF THE MOST RESPECTED AND TREASURED WINERIES IN THE COUNTRY.

A FAMILY WITH A BIG DREAM

Casella Family Brands is Australia’s largest family-owned wine company founded in 1969, today led by Managing Director, John Casella.

The family’s rag to riches story has been told many times over and is still one of the most remarkable in Australian winemaking history.

Growing up amongst age-old vineyards in Sicily, Filippo Casella was inspired by his family’s passion for grape growing and winemaking. His dream was to make his own wine and build a family winery business for future generations.

The story really begins in 1957 when Filippo and Maria Casella set sail from Italy to Australia to find a better way of life. They eventually settled in Yenda, in the Riverina region of New South Wales. There they grew grapes for local winemakers but with the desire to craft their own wines still very much an aspiration in 1969 on Farm 1471, Filippo Casella hand-built the first winery shed and the Casella family winery was born. Little did they know, Casella Family Brands would one day become Australia’s largest family-owned wine company.

Growing up helping his parents in the family vineyards and winery, their middle son, John, learned the winemaking craft from a young age. He witnessed their hard work, generosity of spirit and sharing of wine, food and good times with family and friends. The hard work, tenacity and expertise that Filippo Casella instilled in his children, as well as his acute knowledge of winemaking, has stayed with John throughout his career to date.

A QUIET ACHIEVER

In order to refine his already distinctive winemaking skills, John studied Oenology at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga, graduating in 1982. Never straying too far from his family and the winery they called home, he moved back to Griffith and further honed his skills as winemaker and manager of Riverina Estate where he was instrumental in raising their 4,000-tonne grape crush in 1983 to 25,000 tonnes in 1995.

In 1995, John returned to his roots and became Managing Director of Casella Family Brands. His family’s winemaking philosophy to bring family and friends together at any occasion inspired his vision to create an approachable wine that everyone could enjoy. By doing so, he wanted to demonstrate that wine could be approachable; easy to choose, easy to drink and easy to understand. [yellow tail] wine was born.

THE RISE OF A GLOBAL WINE PHENOMENON

Launching [yellow tail] in 2001, John forecasted to sell 25,000 cases. He was wrong. Sales were over one million cases within 13 months and by 2003, global sales hit five million cases bringing the iconic yellow-footed rock-wallaby John selected for the label, to countries all over the world.

John has grown [yellow tail] to become the world’s number one most powerful consumer wine brand. Today, Casella Family Brands exports 11.5 million cases of the easy-drinking wine to 50 countries every year, accounting for approximately 13% of all Australian exported wine.

In 2020, [yellow tail] has ranked #1 in Wine Intelligence’s Global Brand Power Index for the third year in a row.

NEW HORIZONS

John’s passion for Australian winemaking and love of the land his family now call home, has led to the expansion of the portfolio to include some of the country’s most iconic wineries. Honouring decades of family winemaking tradition, John’s desire is to showcase the regional excellence of Australia’s most famed regions and widely respected winemakers.

John acquired the iconic Barossa winery, Peter Lehmann Wines in 2014. Over the years that followed, Brand’s Laira Coonawarra, Morris of Rutherglen and Baileys of Glenrowan also joined the Casella portfolio. More recently, John and the winemaking team launched a new brand The Magic Box Wine Collection, an enchanting and nostalgic collection targeted at millennials. He also continues to build on his family’s own premium offering, Casella Family Wines.

In 2019, John and the team celebrated a year of milestones; Casella Family Brands celebrated its 50th anniversary, Peter Lehmann Wines celebrated 40 years since it was founded by the now legendry Peter Lehmann and Morris of Rutherglen commemorated a momentous 160 years. This year in 2020, Baileys of Glenrowan will celebrate a remarkable 150 years of winemaking history.

John’s pioneering spirit has resulted in a range of distinct and outstanding Australian wines that are enjoyed amongst friends and family all over the world.

“Crafting consistently high quality wines is at the heart of everything we do. Our desire is to bring to the world a range of distinct and outstanding Australian wines that leave a legacy, and contribute to Australia’s reputation as a world class wine-producing nation.” John Casella, Managing Director