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16 WINES&VINES October 2016 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS Premier Quality from North america's leadiNg ViNe Nursery leaders raise the bar in everything they do and that's why Vintage Nurseries continues to set the industry standards for vine cleanliness, improved irrigation methods and product selection. in the last year alone, Vintage has begun work on a new, state-of-the-art greenhouse facility, changed from wood to eco-friendly recycled plastic storage bins and callous boxes, and introduced new sanitization techniques. from our 2010 Protocol mother blocks, to our advanced testing lab, the innovative new Vintage root sock and more, Vintage Nurseries strives to provide the cleanest, healthiest vines in the industry. it's how we lead. it's how we grow. Eco-friEndly plastic storagE bins plastic callous boxEs for VinE clEanlinEss VintagE nursEriEs' adVancEd nEw tEsting lab Serving the Wine, table grape, and raiSin induStrieS 800.499.9019 VintageNurseries.com wasco 661.758.4777 santa rosa 707.542.5510 paso roblEs 805.237.8914 Leaders of Merlot The Duckhorns championed Merlot as a luxury varietal wine, helping establish it as one of the New World's most popular wines. Unfortunately, some other producers planted the variety in unsuitably warm vineyards and made an insipid, sometimes sweet wine derided as "red Chardonnay." The varietal already was losing luster when in 2004 the movie Sideways savaged its reputation while championing Pinot Noir. Ironically, some producers now are grow- ing Pinot Noir in unsuitably warm regions. Fortunately, Duckhorn already had been boosting its Cabernet Sauvignon, and the wine became a standard in upscale steak houses and country clubs. A flock of ducks Beginning in the late 1980s, Duckhorn Wine Co. expanded and diversified, always slipping some reference to ducks into its brand names. It first created Paraduxx to produce Napa Valley red blends (notably Zinfandel and Caber- net), then it bought land and a winery in Ander- son Valley in Mendocino County to plant Pinot Noir for the Goldeneye brand, and then Pinot Noir and Chardonnay under the Migration label in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County. The Duckhorns divorced in 2000 but re- mained involved, especially Margaret Duckhorn, who had an active role in marketing the wine. The majority of Duckhorn Wine Co. was sold to GI Partners in 2007, when that investment company bought out the other investors. One of their major steps was to promote Decoy from a Duckhorn label into a brand and expanded its lineup in a more popular price segment. During the Great Recession, when most wineries were cutting back, GI Partners in- vested more than $60 million to expand Duck- horn's estate vineyard portfolio by 350 acres, built and acquired winemaking facilities, un- veiled new wines and established Canvasback, a Cabernet Sauvignon brand from Washing- ton's Red Mountain AVA. Duckhorn claims to be the No. 1 U.S. luxury wine portfolio and says that it just had its most profitable fiscal year to date. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) served as financial advisor to GI Partners. GI recently bought Far Niente GI Partners bought a majority interest in Far Niente Winery of Oakville in Napa Valley this June. In the process Jeremy Nickel, son of founder Gil Nickel, sold his 35% interest. Jeremy Nickel sued some winery board members and its legal entities for financial malfeasance in 2011. Gil Nickel's widow, Beth Nickel, his nephew, Eric Nickel, and CEO/director of winemaking Dirk Hampson and president Larry Maguire remain minority owners. The current manage- ment team continues. The GI deal includes the Far Niente Winery, which was founded in 1885, then abandoned until Gil and Beth Nickel bought and restored it in 1979 along with the adjacent vineyard, plus Nickel & Nickel Winery in Oakville and the Dolce and EnRoute brands. Founder Gil Nickel died in 2003. GI has also provided investment oversight and sales for a portfolio of 26 vineyards owned by CalPERS. —Paul Franson Duckhorn Wine Co. starting expanding nearly 30 years ago and always referenced ducks in its names.