Foreign investors resort to planning new future for our Spray Farm

Kim Waters
Foreign investors could turn one of the Bellarine Peninsula’s best-known properties into a luxury resort, according to its family owners.
Andrew Browne said the sale of Spray Farm, which hosts events and supplies grapes to the family’s nearby Scotchman’s Hill winery, was attracting interest from as far away as Italy, England, America and China.
However, prospective buyers had little interest in the region’s struggling wine industry.
Mr Browne said enquiries so far suggested Spray Farm was headed for a new incarnation.
“It’s been a very broad cross section of buyers, everything from luxury resort owners to high net-worth individuals but so far no one in the wine industry,” he said.
“The industry is actually in really bad shape.”
Mr Browne said local wineries were struggling with an “enormous oversupply” of produce.
His family put Spray Farm up for sale to concentrate on its core winery business.
“We can add value to our business by buying out well-known brands in their unfortunate state and capitalising on that,” he explained.
“At the moment that’s better than focussing on property.”
Spray Farm features a renovated 11-room homestead, landscaped gardens, a vineyard, two helicopter pads, an equestrian area and horse stables.
The property failed to sell when it went on the market in 2008 for $8 million.
Mr Browne blamed the 2008 flop on the global financial crisis.
“Now that things are more stable we’re hoping it will sell.”
Geelong’s Bruce Falk Property and Melbourne agency Kay Burton will auction the Portarlington Road winery on April 18.