Wines & Vines

September 2016 Finance Issue

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22 WINES&VINES September 2016 CALIFORNIA Kosta Browne adds Anderson Valley vineyard Kosta Browne Winery in Sebasto- pol announced its purchase of the Cerise Vineyards in the Anderson Valley from Peter and Heidi Knez. The deal marks Kosta Browne's first acquisition outside of So- noma County. The Kosta Browne portfolio of estate vineyards now includes Keefer Ranch in the Russian River Valley and Cerise Vineyards, which is comprised of the Cerise, Demuth and Knez vine- yards. Located above the town of Boonville in Mendocino County at approximately 1,000 feet above sea level, Cerise Vineyards in- cludes 60 acres of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and has produced wine grapes since the 1980s. Vintage gets into spirits with top winemakers Vintage Wine Estates acquired a majority interest in Napa-based Splinter Group Spirits, which was founded in 2013 by vintner Dave Phinney and the Wilkinson fam- ily. The company produces the Straight Edge brand of bour- bon whiskey and the American whiskey Slaugh- ter House. The spirits are aged in French oak wine barrels previously used for Bor- deaux variety red wines. Phinney is the former owner of Orin Swift Cellars, and John Wilkinson is the founder of Bin to Bottle custom- crush winery in Napa. Pat Roney is a partner in Bin to Bottle and the president and CEO of Vintage Wine Estates, which is headquartered in Santa Rosa. Winemakers Steve Matthiasson and Bob Cabral have signed on to expand Splinter's of- ferings in the near future. Sea Smoke acquires Rita's Crown Vineyard Sea Smoke purchased the 201- acre Rita's Crown Vineyard in Santa Barbara County. The vine- yard is contiguous to the existing Sea Smoke estate, which was founded by Bob Davids in 1998. Rita's Crown includes 61 acres of high-density Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines planted in 2007. Sea Smoke acquired the vineyard from Santa Colina Vineyard and contracted with Atlas Vineyard Management to manage the vine- yard and oversee sale of the vine- yard's grapes to clients. According to the statement announcing the purchase, the property will not be absorbed into the Sea Smoke es- tate or have its grapes used in Sea Smoke wines. Victor Gallegos, Sea Smoke vice president, director of winemaking and general manager, said the winery plans to imme- diately transition Rita's Crown to organic farming. Williams Selyem owner donates $500,000 for UC Davis chair John Dyson, the owner of Williams Selyem Winery in Healdsburg, donated $500,000 toward the goal of $1.5 million to endow a chair position in the University of Cali- fornia, Davis, Department of Plant Pathology. When fully funded, the chair will be the director of Foun- dation Plant Sciences and serve on the college faculty. FPS was established in 1958 to distribute virus-tested, professionally identi- fied grape, fruit and nut tree propa- gation stock. The department has been headed by director Deborah Golino for the past 22 years. Ac- cording to the statement announc- ing the donation, Williams Selyem is working with FPS and the Department of Plant Pathology by planting its own nursery increase block in the Vista Verde Vineyard on the Central Coast next spring. Eventually the plantings will fill al- most 6 acres at the estate and will include up to 32 clones of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Merlot from UC Davis' Protocol 10 project. Regional News 5739 NATURAL BRIDGE AVE. ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI 63120-1696 TELEPHONE (314) 381-2828 FAX (314) 381-5908 1-888-WE-R-RACKS (1-888-937-7225) www.titanrack.com email: komoran@titanrack.com TITAN-RACK A DIVISION OF TITAN TUBE FABRICATORS, INC. Double Bar Four Barrel Rack Double Bar Two Barrel Rack Half Rack Removable Center Rack • Central Location SAVES MONEY in Freight • Move more Barrels, cut handling time • Utilize air space, save floor space • Prevent product damage • Powder coat paint Over 30 years of experience in solving material handling needs Why Pay Freight From California? Let Our Central Location, ST. LOUIS, Save You BIG Money Portable Steel Barrel Racks From St. Louis TitanRack_Nov09.qxd 9/29/09 10:50 AM Page 1 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS

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