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October 2018 WINES&VINES 15 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS W inery and vineyard acquisitions contin- ued at a steady pace in late summer, as companies seeking to expand their production capacities and create diversity in their portfolios bought prime Napa vineyards, an iconic, collectible Chardonnay estate and one of Oregon's largest Pinot Noir brands. Family-to-family sales included the August acquisition of Napa Val- ley's Stony Hill Vineyard by the owners of Long Meadow Ranch Winery. Stony Hill's first commercial vintage was 1952 and founders Fred and Eleanor McCrea soon de- veloped one of the very first direct- to-consumer successes in the U.S. wine industry by selling to a mailing list. Stony Hill's estate-grown Char- donnay has been bought and hoarded in the cellars of California wine collectors ever since. "Specifically with Stony Hill, historic properties like that only become available once in a life- time," said Chris Hall, executive vice president and COO of Long Meadow Ranch Wine Estates (LMR), the buyer. "Any time is a good time to acquire an iconic brand and vineyard like Stony Hill." He told Wines & Vines that on another level of logic, securing a long-term grape supply is a prior- ity for many companies right now. "Besides values not getting any lower, this purchase is part of our long- term vision." The acquisition included 40 acres of vineyard on Spring Mountain and a winery with annual case production av- eraging 5,000. Hall declined to reveal the purchase price. Synergy in Chardonnay Stony Hill produces small amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling and other varietals, but its Char- donnay was a big draw for LMR, Hall said. "Long Meadow Ranch has no estate Chardonnay vine- yards in Napa Valley, so that's an obvious synergy." The current generation of McCreas will maintain an equity stake in the combined business and will play an active role in the leadership of LMR, accord- ing to a press release announc- ing the purchase. LMR properties include the Mayacamas Estate home ranch and the 90-acre LMR Rutherford Estate, both in Napa Valley, and a 145-acre Anderson Valley prop- erty in Mendocino County. LMR also operates a general store and wine tasting bar, an outdoor cafe, a farmer's market and a farm-to- table restaurant called Farmstead on St. Helena's Main Street. The company is also in the pro- cess of getting building permits to construct a new 100,000-gallon winery on the Rutherford property that will feature a number of envi- ronmentally sustainable innova- tions, according to Hall. Cabernet deals That deal came on the heels of an- other announced in April when the Heitz family sold equally iconic Heitz Wine Cellars of Napa Valley, famed for its age-worthy Cabernet Sauvignons since its founding in 1961. The buyer was billionaire Gaylon Lawrence Jr., a major agri- culture investor and banker. TOP STORY Acquisitions Continue With Stony Hill and Duck Pond Filter your wine on-premises with ATPGroup Mobile Services. We'll bring our state-of-the-art equipment for Lees Filtration or Cross-Flow Filtration to your winery. Best of all, we'll do all the work, all the cleanup. No muss, no fuss filtration. To find ouT whaT we can do for you, conTacT aTPgrouP aT (707) 836-6840 or online aT www.aTPgrouP.com aTP mobile Services ad_118-7-3_wandV