Employees call for 'miracle' as Cassegrain Wines enters administration

According to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), administrators Benjamin Ismay and Scott Newton of Shaw Gidley Insolvency & Reconstruction were appointed on Thursday, June 8.

Shaw Gidley has three regional offices, including one in Port Macquarie.

It is understood staff were told of the winery's position on Thursday. They now face an uncertain future.

In sharing the news, one employee referred to Cassegrain Wines as an "awesome workplace".

"We all love our jobs there... and to say we're all completely dumbfounded and somewhat numb/stressed... is somewhat of an understatement," they posted on social media.

"[It leaves] my workmates in 32 days time looking for a new job... unless some sort of miracle can happen prior, that is."

John and Eva Cassegrain planted their first vineyard near Port Macquarie in 1980 and opened Cassegrain Wines on December 16, 1985.

Their sons Alex and Philippe now share key roles in the award-winning business, which also includes a restaurant and function centre.

In 2021, John Cassegrain told the Port News he had been "devastated" by the Chinese government's decision to impose tariffs on Australian wine.

"It is quite a significant impact to our business, to put in mildly," he said, while calling for the federal government to support wine producers.

The China setback came as winemakers were already trying to recover from the financial losses of COVID-19, the drought and bushfires.

In fact, it was for his response to the bushfires that Alex Cassegrain was named winemaker of the year in 2021, by the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology's (ASVO).

He had been developing solutions to the widespread smoke taint that affected the grape harvest of 2020.

Cassegrain Wines continues to operate as normal.

ASIC advises that the first meeting of creditors will be held virtually on June 21, at 10am.

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