Skip navigation

Join our community

Join our mailing list to receive the latest news, events, and exclusive deals.

Our Story

[yellow tail] story

  • 1965
    1957-1965
    From humble beginnings,
    the start of
    a journey

    Casella Wines founders Filippo and Maria Casella migrate from Sicily and purchase Farm 1471, the future home of [yellow tail] wines.

    • Full of hope, Filippo, Maria and their two children - Rosa, 10, and Joe, 7 make the four-week journey to Australia from Sicily.
    • With the family together, Filippo and Maria's third child, John, is born.
    • And grows...The couple's fourth child, Marcello, is born.
    • After 5 years spent following seasonal work, the Casellas settle on a vineyard near Griffith, NSW.
    • Farm 1471 is purchased - 50 acres of farmland in Yenda is purchased and planted with grapes, peaches and prunes.
    • Twelve years after leaving Italy, the Casellas are ready to make their own wine again.
    <
    1/
    >
  • 1969
    The next generation
    Casella wines is born!
    The Casella family produce their first batch of wine in Australia. The dream is becoming a reality.
  • 1971 first vintage
    50 tonnes crushed
  • 1975
    The winery starts to grow, stainless steel tank and 12 tonne fermenter installed.
  • 2001-2005
    A brand is born! The start of the millennium
  • 2001
    [yellow tail] launches in the USA
    Selling over 1 million cases in the first year!
    Casella Wines partner with USA importers W.J Deutsch & Sons who launch [yellow tail] to the States. The 1st year forecast was to sell 25,000 cases but actual sales were over a million.
    The brand is born!
  • 2003
    Reserve range launched!
    250,000 cases in the first year.
    [yellow tail]'s big brother is born with the launch of [yellow tail] Reserve. 250,000 cases of Reserves are sold in the first year suggesting big things for the brand await!
  • 2003
    Global sales of [yellow tail] reach 5 million cases!
  • 2004
    [yellow tail] wins big
    Jimmy Watson & Stodart Trophy.
    [yellow tail] awarded the Jimmy Watson and Stodart Trophy, two of the highest accolades in the Australian Wine Show calendar for one year old reds.
  • 2004
    [yellow tail] launches its first outdoor billboard campaign in the USA.
  • 2005
    millionth
    Case leaves for Japan!
  • 2005
    Casella Wines inducted into the export
    hall of fame
    Casella Wines is inducted into the export hall of fame for its on going contribution to [yellow tail].
  • 2006-2011
    The fastest bottling line in the world!
  • 2006
    Fastest bottling line in the world
    To keep up with [yellow tail]'s rapid growth, the winery install the fastest bottling line in the world, capable of processing 36,000 bottles per hour.
  • 2007
    Mt Bingar
    [yellow tail] installs the largest rain & waste plant in Australia.
    It is capable of recycling the equivalent of 160 olympic-sized swimming pools every year.
  • 2008
    Hello UK!
    [yellow tail] hits the UK streets with its 'Hello' campaign.
    Watch video
  • 2008
    A truly global community of [yellow tail] lovers exist with global sales of [yellow tail] surpassing 10 million cases.
    "We now crush more in a day than we did in a year back then"
    John Casella
  • 2009
    [yellow tail]
    Named Australia's most powerful family owned wine brand. 2 years running!
  • 2010
    Bubbles
    [yellow tail] pops cork on new bubbles.
    [yellow tail]'s popular sparkling white and rosé wine reveals a brand new look and innovative re-sealable closure!
  • 2010
    The family expands!
    187mL mini-bottles are released.
    [yellow tail] releases convenient 187mL mini-bottles in five popular varieties – Pinot Grigio, Semillon Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Shiraz and Merlot.
  • 2011
    Birthday time
    [yellow tail] celebrates its 10th birthday and is available in over 50 countries around the world. From Humble beginnings [yellow tail] has become Australia's greatest wine exporter.
  • The journey continues...
Stripped bare, the Yellow Tail philosophy

stripped bare - [yellow tail] philosophy

Well, not literally stripped bare - more like 'revealed' as the wine to drink when you don't want to get mixed up in all the wine guff. This isn't about vineyards or the winery or the friendly dog that hangs out with the winemakers. It's about the pleasure you get from the great taste of the wine because in the end, that's the most important thing. Enjoy [yellow tail] with friends, with family, with neighbours, with your goldfish Goldie.

It doesn't matter. [yellow tail] began as a little family winery in a small country town in Australia, and from day one the mission was to make wines that are great value that everyone can enjoy because they over deliver on quality. [yellow tail] is approachable and the wines can be enjoyed by anyone, anywhere.

Rather than going on about how the wines are bursting with personality, that they are vibrant, tasty wines that are brilliantly easy to drink, we'd rather hear it from you. You are the people who open our bottles. These wines are yours.

Our Winery, the Casella story

Casella story

The Casella Family

The Casella family arrived in Australia from Sicily in 1957, bringing with them not only generations of family wine making, but the know-how to produce wines that are more than simply a drink with dinner. Yep, they had a vision for Australian wine drinkers.

Sure, there was plenty of elbow work along the way, but with their experience and wine knowledge put to use, the Casellas set about developing their fledgling wine company.

In the beginning...

It all started with the Casellas recognising the great potential of the Riverina region in New South Wales – the area speaks with brightly flavoured fruit and offers wines of great drinkability. So, in 1965, they bought land near the township of Yenda outside of Griffith in New South Wales, and here they began their grape growing.

Grape growing became wine making, and wine making needed a winery, so we go a few more years down the track and in 1969 their winery was born. After years of toil and great success the Casellas took another step in 2001 with the creation of [yellow tail], a new and fun wine brand that spoke to modern drinkers and wine lovers the world over. And the fireworks began…

Still, the Casellas have never lost sight of their humble beginnings, even as [yellow tail] continues to take the world by storm. The wines are found in more than 50 countries around the world. Meanwhile, [yellow tail] is Australia's number one wine exporter, and has become the top selling wine in Canada and the USA. And still, the Casellas stay true to their family business. Today, the day-to-day operations of the winery are run by the three Casella sons - John, Managing Director and Winemaker; Joe, Australian Sales Director; and Marcello, Director and Vineyard Operations Director.

Did you know?

If you don't finish a bottle of sparkling wine, don't drop a spoon in the neck - it does absolutely nothing. Lucky our Bubbles have a re-sealable closure to lock in the fizz!

Our community

Join our mailing list to receive the latest news, events, and exclusive deals.

the yellow tail team
Join Our Community