Pickings......

BY ROBERT MAYNE

The big merger and takeovers in the Australian wine industry have been continuing now for some 30 years. They were initially driven by the desire of the breweries, including Tooths, then Tooheys, then Philip Morris, Gilbeys and so on. A few years ago, Fosters Australia acquired Australia's largest wine company, Southcorp Wines. (also owners of Wolf Blass, Mildara Wines, and Beringer of the United States) .They then made a $3.1 billion dollar offer for the Southcorp brands, which included Penfolds (and their Grange brand), Lindeman's, Wynns and Seppelts. In a reverse takeover the Oatley family, owners of the highly successful Rosemount Estate brand, bought Southcorp.…