One of the worst kept secrets in Australian wine ended when Southcorp finally announced its purchase of Devil’s Lair, for an estimated $12-15 million. The purchase includes 35 ha of established vineyard on a 127 ha property and a Southcorp’s first processing facility in WA. Devil’s Lair was established in 1980 by Phil Sexton, who also developed the Matilda Bay Brewery (the original source of Redback beer), today owned by Fosters Brewing. Southcorp will increase Devil’s Lair’s present production from 10,000 cases to 70,000 over the next five years and will fully develop the vineyard over the next two years. Additional fruit will be purchased to augment its own production.
