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June 2016 WINES&VINES 15 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS O akville, Calif.—Far Niente Wine Estates confirmed May 17 that it was selling a majority interest in the company to GI Partners of Menlo Park, Calif. The Far Niente group en- compasses four winemaking facilities, 300 acres and 75,000 cases total production. The historic Far Niente estate produces 30,000 cases of its flagship wine, plus 20,000 cases of Nickel & Nickel wines, 1,500 cases of Dolce sweet wine, 10,000 cases of EnRoute wines and wines from the newest winery in the group, Bella Union. Dirk Hampson, chairman and director of winemaking, described the deal as a strategic investment in the company, including vine- yards, wineries, brands and a farming com- pany, Vinescape. The announcement came one day after Jackson Family Wines announced the purchase of Copain Wines in Healdsburg, Calif., and three weeks after the annual North Bay Busi- ness Journal Wine Conference tackled the sub- ject of mergers and acquisitions. Acquisition trends One member of the panel at the North Bay Busi- ness Journal Wine Conference was Pat Roney, president of Vintage Wine Estates, which has ac- quired a number of brands in the past year includ- ing Clos Pegase, Viansa, Swanson and B.R. Cohn. "Consolidation is driving a lot of M&A ac- tivity. Distributor consolidation is putting the squeeze on smaller wineries. Southern Wine & Spirits, itself just merged with a competitor, plans to eliminate 35% of its brands," he said. Roney feels this trend will continue, which pushes companies like his to add more brands. "Making even 1.5 million cases is not impor- tant enough to distributors." Robert Nicholson, a broker with Interna- tional Wine Associates, added that few of the properties being sold are distressed. "American wineries want to expand their portfolios; in- ternational buyers want improved access." The broker said he sees all types of buyers: strategic (other wineries seeking brands, vine- yards or production), families, international companies and financial firms. They're looking for well-run wineries, especially in Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon in top areas. "Those are costly to build from scratch," he said. A few years ago, wineries were buying vine- yards, noted Carol Collison, partner in Global Wine Partners, but now some of the biggest players (Gallo, Wine Group, Jackson and Con- stellation) are buying brands, too, for the first time in years. Collison said she expects more deals this year than average. "We've seen about 20 transactions a year according to the Wines & Vines database, but we're seeing better quality now." She added that foreign buyers are focused on Napa and want real estate. And while consolidation in distribution is pushing many wineries to focus on direct- to-consumer sales, Collison said, "No one wants to buy your direct-to-consumer (DtC) brand. They don't see an exit strategy for DtC brands." Tim Wallace, who was president of Benziger Family Winery before it was acquired by The Wine Group, attributes some of the activity to consumers moving up. "Big wineries want to address that market segment better." In other merger news, at the Oregon Wine Symposium in February, Mark Freund of Silicon Valley Bank said 38% of winery owners there were considering selling their businesses. Another merger expert is Mario Zepponi, a partner at Santa Rosa, Calif.-based Zepponi & Co., which helped broker a deal between Jack- son Family Wines and Penner-Ash Cellars. "The market is so strong that some people have reached a point in their lives where they feel it's a good transition point to at least have the discussion," he said. "There's a lot of interest in the Northwest, both inside and from outside." "I would expect to see a continuation of this," Zepponi said. "I think there's still a long enough runway for this to continue on for at least the next 12 to 24 months." Sales roundup In addition to Far Niente Wine Estates, nine other transactions have been reported in the past month or so. Jackson Family Wines announced the pur- chase of Copain Wines from owner/winemaker Wells Guthrie and San Francisco-based Murano Group on May 16. The Copain Wines tasting room will remain open. Ste. Michelle Wine Estates bought Patz & Hall Winery in Sonoma, Calif., expanding Washington state-based Ste. Michelle's Pinot Noir portfolio. Bill Foley's Foley Family Wines of Healds- burg, Calif., bought Stryker Sonoma Winery in Geyserville, Calif. The winery will become Foley Sonoma, and Foley's daughter Court- ney Foley will become its winemaker. Napa Valley winemaker Kirk P. Venge's Venge Vineyards bought Robert Rue Vineyard and Winery in the Russian River Valley of So- noma County and renamed it Croix Estate. Diane and Ken Wilson's Geyserville, Calif.-based Wilson Artisan Wineries bought 1,500-case Greenwood Ridge Vineyards in the Anderson Valley. Rajat Parr, Sashi Moorman and Steve Web- ster bought the Sandhi Wines brand in Santa Barbara County, Calif., from Terroir Capital. The buyers also own 65-acre Domaine de la Côte in the Santa Rita Hills and Evening Land Seven Springs Estate in the Eola Amity Hills in Oregon. Jackson Family Wines bought most of 15,000-case Penner-Ash Wine Cellars' assets in Oregon. Winemaker Lynn Penner-Ash said she will stay on while Jackson Family Wines provides sales, marketing, distribution and back-office administrative support. Rob Wallace of Del Rio Vineyards bought the 215-acre Birdseye property in southern Oregon for $2 million from Ted Birdseye, whose ancestors settled on the property in the 1850s. Wallace, with co-owners Jolee and Lee Traynham, expects to plant 175 acres of wine grapes on the property. Sean Tudor of 2dor Wines and Robert Smasne of Smasne Cellars purchased the 12,000-square-foot former Olsen Estates win- ery in the Vintners Village in Prosser, Wash. The Olsen family closed it in 2011 to focus on growing grapes. Smasne's 3,000-case produc- tion will move to the new facility, and it has closed its tasting room in Kennewick. —Paul Franson WINE INDUSTRY SALES Winery Tasting room Vineyards Far Niente Wine Estates 4 4 4 Copain Wines 4 4 Patz & Hall 4 4 Stryker Sonoma (now Foley Sonoma) 4 4 4 Robert Rue Vineyard and Winery (now Croix Estate) 4 4 4 Greenwood Ridge 4 Sandhi Wines Penner-Ash Cellars 4 4 4 Birdseye Ranch 4 Olsen Estates 4 TOP STORY Winery Sales Continue at Brisk Pace