Rochford Wines owner passes Toolangi brand and assets to chief winemaker

Helmut Konecsny, owner of Yarra Valley-based winery Rochford Wines, has passed the winery’s Toolangi brand and vineyard assets to his long-serving winemaker, Kaspar Hermann, as well as his family, “ensuring Toolangi remains a family-owned vineyard as it becomes independent”. Toolangi now operates independently under Hermann’s direction and with Rochford’s full support. Hermann will continue his role as winemaker for both houses. “Wine is made by people, not portfolios,” Konecsny said. “Kaspar has poured his heart into these wines. He has walked these rows through frost and heatwave, through hard vintages and great ones. A winery is not barrels and buildings – it is the people who give their lives to it. The proudest thing an owner can do is not to hold on, it is to hand over – well, to the right hands. Toolangi is in the right hands.” For Hermann, the transition “fulfills a lifelong dream and a winemaker’s oldest ambition: a family name behind the family’s wines”.