When Bob Berton, Jamie Bennett and James Ceccato purchased the former Southcorp winery in NSW’s Riverina region back in 2005, becoming one of the country’s largest producers wasn’t necessarily the end game.

“We just wanted to make our little mark on the wine industry and be proud of what we did,” Jamie explains.

“Then this opportunity emerged and gained momentum quickly – the next thing you know, we were trying to find the light switches so we could read the instruction manuals!”

With only two months to prepare for a 14,000 tonne crush it was a whirlwind beginning for the Berton team, and within the following 12 months they’d established a bottling line at the Yenda operation. Three years later, it hit an extraordinary benchmark, when it became one of the country’s top 20 producers by volume.

It’s remained so ever since. The business has steadily expanded its capacity, via investment in warehouses, bottling technology and 20 million litres of tank storage.

Today, Berton Vineyards produces a million cases of wine a year, around half of them for its own label. They’re sold in 25 countries, with strong footholds in the UK, Southeast Asia and China.

“Developing those brands out in an international marketplace is a long haul and it requires a lot of patience,” Jamie says. “We’ve put a lot of energy into it, and we’ve also been willing to bide our time and let our wines do the talking.”

The Berton range encompasses top-shelf drops, value tipples destined for supermarket shelves, cafes and bars at home and abroad, and a handful of price points in between.

“We invest wholeheartedly into every single wine because we recognise the importance of every price point,” Jamie says. “Regardless of where the wine sits in our portfolio, we stay true to the vision of offering unbelievable value. The diversity in our ranges helps keep our bottling line humming along – we’ve never lost sight of that.”

Nor has the business lost sight of the need to move with the times. The beverage market is far from static and developing wines that will appeal to future customers is critical to long-term success.

“We have to evolve our wines to ensure we’re relevant tomorrow,” Jamie says. “You always like to think you’re making something you like, but you’ve got to make sure the crowd feels the same way about it.”

NAB Agribusiness Manager Julieanne Lawrence says a diversified business strategy has served Berton Vineyards well since its inception.

“They sell both domestically and internationally and they have a strong focus on business sustainability.

“Exemplary management practices have helped them navigate their way through some of the big challenges the wine industry has experienced in the last 20 years. NAB believed in their vision and has backed them from the outset.”