Strategic legal advice to a vineyard and wine-producing company

Ricca Terra Farms owns and operates unique Australian vineyards. The vision of principals Ashley & Holly Ratcliff was to identify and grow grape varieties that suited a Mediterranean climate. Today Ricca Terra Farms is one of the largest producers of alternative wine grape varieties in Australia. 

Through the Riverland Alternative Wine Group, Ricca Terra Farms has been an early adopter of Italian wine grape varieties such as Vermentino and Nero d’Avola, which are well suited to hot and dry climates. 

Managing Director Ashley Ratcliff is a Riverland wine industry stalwart and ardent supporter of the region as a premium wine-growing area. Ashley’s awards are many and include Viticulturist of the Year, ABC Rural’s Horticulturist of the Year, and Riverland Wine Industry Winemaker of the Year, and he has been included in Wine Business Monthly’s Top 50 Stars of the Australian Wine Industry. 

Piper Alderman has provided strategic legal advice to Ricca Terra Farms on a range of issues impacting the business and driving its growth, including investment, joint venture structuring, and intellectual property protection. We are proud to maintain an association with such a progressive and entrepreneurial team. Our team is qualified in various commercial and contractual law issues, including intellectual property protection. 

What our client said

Ashley Ratcliff, Managing Director

“Our core business is to grow wine grapes for the icon winemakers of Australia. This requires dedication, focus and passion. To achieve success we have surrounded Ricca Terra Farms with dependable and professional third party partners who provide the same service we strive to deliver to our customers. We have found Simon and his team at Piper Alderman to be extremely professional whenever we have sought legal advice. We are very pleased to have Piper Alderman on our team.”