Posted by The Wine Guy | Wine Articles | Posted on May 17th, 2013
From the beginning of 2011, a leading Bordeaux real estate agent says, an average of one Bordeaux chateau per month has been sold to a Chinese investor.
Chateau Haut Brisson
Asian-owned properties in Bordeaux now number 40 to 50 – a figure that, given the size of the region, is a mere ‘blip on the radar’, estate agent Maxwell-Storrie-Baynes says.
From 1997, when Taiwanese native Peter Kwok bought Chateau Haut Brisson, there have been some 50 chateaux in the Bordeaux region sold to investors from China, Singapore, Taiwan and Japan.
The market for Bordeaux properties is so bullish that auctioneer Christie’s has seen the opportunity and is launching a vineyards service targetted at the Chinese, as part of Christie’s International Real Estate.
Maxwell-Storrie-Baynes, which acts as Christie’s Bordeaux affiliate, has compiled a table of purchases since the late 1990s and finds at least 40 chateaux are Chinese-owned.
It says the focus has primarily been on Chinese buyers but it is not always possible to discern exactly where buyers are from.
‘This is because business addresses or indeed the geographical sources of the purchase funds are not always the same as the owners’ [location].’
Some purchasers are building considerable portfolios of property. Cheng Qu, for example, owner of the huge oil-to-real estate Haichang Group, and the driving force behind the Dalian wine festival in northeast China, has just added Chateau L’Enclos in Sainte Foy la Grande, near Bergerac, to his holdings.
He is already owner of ten Bordeaux estates including Chateau Baby (also in Sainte Foy), Chateau Chenu-Lafitte and Chateau Branda.
The impetus behind buyers like Cheng – and there are many like him – is the desire to supply increasingly sophisticated Chinese consumers with wine. Within the next five to ten years, it is estimated, the middle class in China will number some 300m and constitute a market larger than the United States.
‘People who are buying Bordeaux chateaux are looking to service that market,’ Maxwell-Storrie-Baynes partner Michael Baynes told Decanter.com.‘Typically, they want to control the supply chain.’
An early adopter of this policy – controlling supply from vineyard to end user – was Richard Shen Dongjun, owner of the 400-strong jewellery retail chain Tesiro, who bought the Medoc Cru Bourgeois Chateau Laulan Ducos in 2011.
A spokesman for Shen told Decanter.com at the time that the idea was to create a chain of stores under the name of the chateau, in cities with a rising wine-drinking culture, exploiting the existing Tesiro network. They would stop selling the wine in France.
There are compelling financial incentives behind such a move. With the cost of production €2-3 per bottle, and the ability to mark up to €30-50 per bottle, ‘it is a nice business prospect,’ Baynes says. ‘One of our clients recouped the price of the vineyard in one year.’
By and large, the Bordelais welcome this influx of investment, although resentment can bubble to the surface. One prominent owner, on selling her estate to a private French buyer said, ‘We wanted it to go to another family. We didn’t want it to go to a faceless insurance company or to a group of Chinese investors. We’re very happy that it is going to a family that we have known for a long time, and that we know will look after the estate.’
In Burgundy, the resentment is palpable: the purchase of Chateau Gevrey-Chambertin by Macau businessman and Burgundy lover Louis Ng last year caused a storm of protest. ‘It is a despoliation. Our heritage is going out of the window,’ Jean-Michel Guillon, president of the union of Gevrey-Chambertin wine producers said, just before the ultra-right Front National added its voice.
But Bordeaux is different, Barnes says, pointing out that there are 120,000ha of vines in Bordeaux and 28,000 in Burgundy, of which only 5,000 are of real interest.
‘There’s a totally different reaction in Bordeaux,’ Baynes says. ‘We’re delighted to have the Chinese here. They couldn’t have come at a better time. This region has a long history of foreign investment, from the Irish to the Belgians, the English, Australian magnates, Americans, Brazilians, Saudi princes. It’s nothing new.’
Baynes also notes that in a region of 8,000 chateaux, Chinese owners represent only 0.5% of ownership. ‘In the grand scheme of things they are a blip on the radar.’
Wine News | Decanter
Posted by The Wine Guy | Wine Articles | Posted on May 17th, 2013
Two innovative burgers from a great new book, plus 16 recommended reds and whites to match
Laurie Woolever
Posted: May 17, 2013
Summer is almost here—or at least the earliest definition of summer, ushered in by Memorial Day weekend. It’s time for entertaining beach reads, casual clothing and long weekends away. It’s time for burgers, ideally cooked outdoors and served with well-chosen wines on a deck, patio or beach.
“Making a good burger is easy,” say Andy Husbands, Chris Hart and Andrea Pyenson in their new book, Wicked Good Burgers. “But making what we believe is a perfect burger takes a little more effort.” Husbands is the chef and owner of Tremont 647, in Boston, and a member of the award-winning iQUE barbecue team, along with Hart, who holds down a day job as a software developer. iQUE won the Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue in 2009, an unlikely feat for a team based in the Northeast. As with their first book, Wicked Good Barbecue, the authors seek to share their techniques and recipes in order to help home cooks elevate simple comfort food to something extraordinary—without drastically changing the nature of the beast.
The book features plenty of great recipes for burgers made with beef—classic grilled patties, sliders, burgers cooked sous vide and a giant burger for 12 cooked over a campfire in a grill basket, just to name a few. But it also gives the burger treatment to a range of animal proteins. Below you’ll find a bison-based recipe that matches well with the earthy notes and red and black fruits of a Syrah or Shiraz; and a salmon burger made using belly meat whose rich texture calls out for Chardonnay. For more pairing options, look to the recently rated, recommended red and white wines following the recipes.
All-American Double Bison Cheeseburger
Recipes and text excerpted and adapted from Wicked Good Burgers by Andy Husbands, Chris Hart and Andrea Pyenson (Fair Winds Press 2013)
What says “American diet” more than a double cheeseburger? If one of something is good, two is better—right? How about making that cheeseburger with bison meat? Bison is leaner than beef and lower in calories (so you can afford both the extra meat and the extra cheese). Some people argue it also boasts a slightly sweeter flavor. In this recipe, we recommend using the “smash” technique—employed at some of the country’s best quick-serve burger joints—that helps create a fabulous, crispy crust. Big. Sweet. Crispy. Make mine a double.
• 2 pounds bison or ground bison (ask your butcher for a blend of bison cuts that will yield an 80/20 meat-to-fat ratio)
• Kosher salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, for cooking
• 4 large potato buns
• 8 slices yellow deli-style American cheese
• Jarred sliced pickles, for garnish
• Sliced onion, for garnish
• Ketchup and mustard, for garnish
• Special Sauce (recipe follows)
1. If grinding, cut the bison into strips and freeze until stiff, about 45 minutes. Grind using the coarse grinder plate. (We recommend storing the grinder parts in the freezer to avoid the heat created by the friction of the grinder’s many moving parts.) Divide the ground meat into 8 equal portions and shape each into a ball about the size of a golf ball. Salt the tops of each bison ball.
2. Heat a skillet over high heat until very hot. If you have an infrared thermometer, the skillet should register at least 500° F. You can also test the temperature by brushing on a bit of oil. When the skillet starts to smoke, it’s ready.
3. If your skillet is not big enough to accommodate all of the burgers at the same time, cook them in batches. Line a platter with butcher paper or a large piece of a paper grocery bag. (We don’t think paper towels are sturdy enough for this job; they absorb too much moisture and destroy the crust.) Open your windows and/or turn on your oven fan. There’s gonna be some smoke!
4. Place the burgers on the skillet, salted side down. Press gently and cook for 1 minute. After 1 minute, using a sturdy spatula, smash each burger until it is about 1/4-inch thick. Salt the tops of the smashed burgers.
5. Cook for 2 more minutes and then flip the burgers. Lay a piece of American cheese on each burger and cook for 2 more minutes.
6. If cooking in batches, transfer the burgers to the platter. Repeat until all the burgers are cooked. Note that this method cooks the burgers almost through with just a bit of pink in the center. We sacrifice our usual preference for rare meat in order to get that wonderfully crispy exterior. Once you have transferred the burgers to the platter, don’t cover them or put them in the oven: You want to preserve what you worked so hard to achieve.
7. To serve: Place 1 patty on the bottom half of a bun. (If you have some burgers resting from an earlier batch, place them back on the skillet for a minute to warm them up.) Stack another burger on top and garnish with pickles and onion. Spread mustard, ketchup and Special Sauce on the other bun half, and place that on the burger. Serves 4.
Special Sauce
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon pickle relish
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
In a small bowl, mix all ingredients together. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. The sauce will keep in the refrigerator, sealed tightly in a container, for up to two weeks. Makes 3/4 cup.
Salmon Burger
The key to this burger is using belly. Your fishmonger will probably be thrilled to sell it to you, as customers usually gravitate to more popular steaks and fillets. In our opinion, however, the belly is the best part of the fish. It is often used for salmon tartare, but we like it for burgers, too, because it is the fattiest part of the fish. In addition to being incredibly flavorful, it will stay juicy when cooked.
Rich salmon belly burgers topped with mayonnaise can stand up to full-bodied Chardonnays from a range of regions.
• 2 1/2 pounds salmon belly
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups panko
• Kosher salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 lemon
• 6 hamburger buns
• Mayonnaise with minced fresh dill folded in, to taste
• Arugula, for garnish
• 2 tablespoons crème fraîche, for garnish
• 1 tablespoon minced chives, for garnish
• Dilled salmon roe (recipe follows), optional
1. Cut 2 pounds of the salmon into strips and place in the freezer until stiff, about 20 minutes. Roughly chop the remaining 1/2 pound of salmon. Remove the salmon from the freezer and grind, using the coarse or medium grind plate. If you do not have a grinder, place in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the chopping blade and pulse until coarsely ground.
2. In a large bowl, combine the ground and chopped salmon with soy sauce, mustard, garlic, parsley, egg and bread crumbs.
3. Using your hands, shape the salmon into 6 patties, about 1/2-inch thick. Season with salt. Heat a skillet over high heat until very hot. If you have an infrared thermometer, the skillet should register at least 500° F. Brush the skillet with vegetable oil. Place the patties on the skillet without overcrowding. (You may have to do this in batches.)
4. Cook for 3 minutes. Turn the patties over and cook on the other side for 2 minutes until the exterior is crispy and the burgers register an internal temperature of 135° F. Transfer the patties to a platter, squeeze with lemon and tent loosely with foil. While the patties are resting, toast the buns.
5. To serve: Spread dill mayonnaise on the the bottom halves of the buns and place the burgers on top. Add a dollop of crème fraîche, a sprinkle of chives, 2 teaspoons of dilled salmon roe (if using), and a few leaves of arugula. Place the remaining halves of buns on top. Serves 6.
Dilled Salmon Roe
• 2 ounces salmon roe
• 1 tablespoon crispy crumbled bacon
• 1 shallot, peeled and julienned
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh dill
In a small bowl, carefully mix together. You don’t want to crush any of the roe. Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 hour. Makes about 1/4 cup.
RECOMMENDED SYRAHS, SHIRAZES AND BLENDS
Note: The following list is a selection of outstanding and very good wines from recently rated releases. More wines can be found in our Wine Ratings Search.
MOLLYDOOKER Two Left Feet McLaren Vale 2011 Score: 92 | $ 25
Polished, ripe and generous with its blackberry, mocha and sage flavors, brilliantly focused and elegantly balanced, lingering effortlessly on the seamless finish. Complex and inviting, this should develop beautifully with cellaring. Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Drink now through 2020. 7,800 cases made. From Australia. —H.S.
PARINGA Shiraz South Australia 2010 Score: 90 | $ 11
Smooth and inviting, offering a plush-textured, focused, juicy hit of blueberry, black currant and tar, singing sweetly through the extended finish. Drink now through 2017. 30,000 cases made. From Australia. —H.S.
PILLAR BOX Red Padthaway 2010 Score: 89 | $ 12
Velvety and ripe, offering dark berry and licorice flavors that glide smoothly through the finish. Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Drink now through 2015. 60,000 cases made. From Australia. —H.S.
M. CHAPOUTIER Côtes du Roussillon-Villages Les Vignes de Bila-Haut 2011 Score: 88 | $ 14
Firm and moderately ripe, featuring muscular flavors of dark plum, kirsch and graphite, accented by mocha and slate notes. Offers a dense and mineral-infused finish redolent of dark chocolate. Drink now through 2017. 40,000 cases made. From France. —K.M.
VIÑA FALERNIA Syrah Elquí Valley Reserva 2009 Score: 88 | $ 15
Spice-filled, delivering a round palate of roasted plum, game, coffee bean and herb notes. Drink now. 26,000 cases made. From Chile. —N.W.
LINDEMANS Shiraz-Cabernet South Eastern Australia Bin 55 2012 Score: 87 | $ 7
Fresh and vibrant, with juicy blueberry and plum fruit balanced against savory notes on the gently lingering finish. Drink now. 25,000 cases imported. From Australia. —H.S.
WOOP WOOP Shiraz South Eastern Australia 2011 Score: 87 | $ 14
Light and ingratiating, with pretty red berry and floral flavors, finishing with refinement. Drink now through 2015. 45,000 cases made. From Australia. —H.S.
WINE MEN OF GOTHAM Shiraz South Eastern Australia 2011 Score: 86 | $ 10
Fresh and spicy, with a dark berry core and peppery overtones. Drink now. 50,000 cases made. From Australia. —H.S.
RECOMMENDED CHARDONNAYS
Note: The following list is a selection of outstanding and very good wines from recently rated releases. More wines can be found in our Wine Ratings Search.
CHATEAU ST. JEAN Chardonnay Alexander Valley Robert Young Vineyard 2010 Score: 92 | $ 25
Graceful and understated, with delicate, fragrant floral, white peach, honeydew melon and smoky oak notes, all beautifully proportioned, offering a long finish. Drink now through 2019. 8,554 cases made. From California. —J.L.
SEVEN FALLS Chardonnay Wahluke Slope 2011 Score: 90 | $ 15
Fresh and vibrant, this white offers an array of pear, grapefruit, white pepper and floral flavors that dance through the relatively light finish, showing a touch of oak. Drink now through 2016. 10,000 cases made. From Washington. —H.S.
SNOQUALMIE Chardonnay Columbia Valley 2010 Score: 88 | $ 10
This white is polished, light and refined, with pretty pear and cream flavors showing deft balance. Drink now through 2014. 15,028 cases made. From Washington. —H.S.
WYNDHAM ESTATE Chardonnay South Eastern Australia Bin 222 2012 Score: 88 | $ 10
Light and refreshing, this is expressive with pear and nectarine fruit that keeps singing through the open-weave finish. Drink now. 15,000 cases imported. From Australia. —H.S.
EXCELSIOR Chardonnay Robertson 2012 Score: 87 | $ 10
Forward, with yellow apple, melon and light toast notes balanced by a juicy feel on the finish. A fresh, crowd-pleasing style. Drink now. 14,000 cases imported. From South Africa. —J.M.
OXFORD LANDING Chardonnay South Australia 2012 Score: 87 | $ 9
Supple, juicy and appealing for its pear and nectarine fruit, lingering on the generous finish. Drink now. 10,000 cases imported. From Australia. —H.S.
COLUMBIA CREST Chardonnay Washington Two Vines 2010 Score: 86 | $ 8
Fresh and silky, with a hint of peach to the flavor profile. Drink now. 160,000 cases made. From Washington. —H.S.
LINDEMANS Chardonnay South Eastern Australia Bin 65 2012 Score: 86 | $ 7
Light and polished, with pretty pear and floral flavors, finishing with a hint of toast. Drink now. 120,000 cases imported. From Australia. —H.S.
WineSpectator.com: News & Features
Posted by The Wine Guy | Wine Articles | Posted on May 17th, 2013
Home > News & Features > News
Posted by The Wine Guy | Wine Articles | Posted on May 17th, 2013
More than 3,000 bottles of wine have been sailed into London by a new company keen to demonstrate the environmental benefits of old-fashioned wind power.
The future?… the Michel & Patrick. Le Grand is back row, second from the left, Isabelle Legeron top right
It looks like a relic from a bygone age, but the 20-metre wooden sailing boat anchored in London’s St Katharine dock could be a sign of things to come, according to Guillaume Le Grand, founder of TransOceanic Wind Transport (TOWT).
Le Grand and his crew this week spent four days sailing 3,500 bottles of natural wine to London from the French port of Fécamp, in partnership with the RAW natural wines fair and Loire Valley winemaker Olivier Cousin.
The six-tonne cargo also included Sfuso bag-in-box wine, from Sicily.
‘We are in phase one. This is to prove there is something there,’ said Le Grand who, together with business partner Diana Mesa, has longer-term plans to ‘build a fleet’ of between four and six ships.
The pair want to highlight society’s unsustainable reliance on oil-derived energy, and have so far also sailed olive oil, chocolate, tea and rum.
‘Last year we sailed 8,000 bottles of wine to Copenhagen, and this year we’re going to sail 15,000,’ said Le Grand, a native of Brittany and a keen sailor and who holds a degree in sustainable development, energy and the environment.
Several hundred bottles aboard the Michel & Patrick moored in London will go to the RAW fair, taking place on May 19 and 20th. All bottles will carry a ‘shipped by sail’ sticker.
RAW organiser Isabelle Legeron MW said that, for natural wines, the initiative ‘is a complete continuation of the work in the vineyard, of that philosophy’.
Wine News | Decanter
Posted by The Wine Guy | Wine Articles | Posted on May 17th, 2013
New price releases are being met by an increasingly small pool of buyers in the Bordeaux 2012 campaign.
Montrose…five vintages cheaper than 2012
Among the estates to release yesterday were Chateau Montrose, matching Pichon Comtesse with a 20% price decrease on 2011 to €57.60 ex-Bordeaux (still above its €42 ex-Bordeaux in 2008 but significantly down from its €132 high in 2010). Chateau Tronquoy Lalande, from the same stable, posted a 6.25% drop to €18 ex-Bordeaux.
The widely-praised Chateau Clinet in Pomerol dropped 11.9% to €44 (this was at €33 in 2008), and Chateau Carbonnieux brought both its red and white wines down by around 3% to €15.5 (red) and €16.5 (white).
Also in Pessac Léognan, Domaine de Chevalier, decided to keep both its red and white unchanged from the 2011 vintage, so €30 ex-Bordeaux for the red, and €58 for the white (in 2008 you’d have paid €23.50 for the red, and €45 for the white).
Château Guiraud in Sauternes also kept its 2011 price at €30 ex-Bordeaux.
As the campaign begins to wind down, it now looks as if even drops of 20% are unlikely to attract the attention of buyers.
Max Lalondrelle at Berry Bros told Decanter.com the problem was that people simply did not think they were getting a good deal any more.
‘En Primeur should be very simple – customers give chateaux cash in advance, and for that they get a deal. They need to be able to look back and think buying in advance was a good thing. That’s not happening any more.’
BBR sold 220 bottles of Montrose yesterday, Lalondrelle said, compared to around 2,000 last year and around 5,500 bottles of the 2010.
‘There are five other vintages of Montrose available in the market in the UK for a cheaper price, so customers know they can pick up the 2012 once they have tasted it for themselves.’
Wine News | Decanter
Posted by The Wine Guy | Wine Articles | Posted on May 16th, 2013
Plus, celebrity chef trading cards hit Brooklyn, recapping Napa’s BottleRock festival, a Kendall-Jackson Undercover Boss update and more
Posted: May 16, 2013
• It was a slow ride for Foghat Cellars to come to Unfiltered’s attention, but perhaps a testament that the British classic rock drummer Roger Earl and his wife, Linda, are in it for the wine, not the publicity. In other words, they’re taking it easy. We found out about Foghat Cellars when their wines showed up as submissions for blind review at the Napa office a few weeks ago, not through the usual flashy press releases that accompany rock-star wines. Foghat Cellars is a collaboration between the Earls and former Talley Vineyards winemaker Steve Rasmussen, who was inspired after seeing Foghat perform at the California Mid-State Fair in Paso Robles in 2007. Foghat Cellars’ first vintage, bottled in 2008, was just 90 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon. Since then, they have branched out to Sierra Madre Chardonnay, Santa Ynez Valley Cabernet, and Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Santa Maria Valley, all priced at around $ 20 to $ 25 per bottle. Rasmussen also runs a mobile wine-bottling business called Slo Bottling. The Earls and Rasmussen don’t take it easy or slow at Westgate Cellars in Santa Maria, however—when the grapes come in, the three of them can be spotted doing plenty of heavy lifting themselves, from punch downs to shoveling grape must.
• Mark your calendars: This is officially the week that wine-and-food celebrity culture jumped the shark … right into our childhood hearts. Sure, this upcoming weekend’s second iteration of the Great GoogaMooga festival in Brooklyn, N.Y.’s Prospect Park will feature plenty more wine, beer, food and music, but Unfiltered has become oddly obsessed with the premiere release of the Great GoogaMooga trading cards, a series of retro-styled cards complete with stat- and recipe-filled backs that will be distributed at the festival in five themed wax packs (each featuring seven cards, one sticker and … no gum?!): The Going Ham series features pork-loving chefs, including Top Chef star Dale Halde; Sausage Party includes the “Haute Heavyweight” Daniel Boulud and the Spotted Pig’s April Bloomfield; Drinking Buddies spotlights friendly local brewers and wine pros like Corkbuzz’s Laura Maniec and Red Hook Winery’s Mark Snyder. There’s even a set of cards devoted to chefs’ moms. Awwww. And of course, in addition to free trading cards, there will be seminars from Boulud, Michelle Bernstein, Christopher Kostow and other chefs, more than 100 wines available to festivalgoers, and performances by The Flaming Lips, De La Soul, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Kool & the Gang and many, many others. We’ll have the wrap-up next week, including how many bottles of wine a Boulud rookie card is going for.
• Festivalgoers were squeezed in tighter than a third press of Cabernet for BottleRock, the five-day rock’n’roll, wine and food extravaganza held this past weekend at the downtown Napa Fairgrounds. Big weekend crowds were thought to be in the 35,000 range on Friday and Saturday, taking in the festivities built around some 50 acts performing on multiple stages. Headliners like The Black Keys and Dwight Yoakum wowed fans. Sonoma vintner Les Claypool’s fingers were flying for Primus’ show. All in all, things went smoothly, or at least as smoothly as one could hope when a city the size of Napa is inundated by 100,000 partiers. The wine booths more than held their own against the beer purveyors, and what appeared to be hand-rolled cigarettes seemed quite popular …. BottleRock promoters said the event would return next year in May in an abbreviated version of three days instead of five.
• It’s been a while since we’ve had much reality TV wine news to report, but tomorrow night’s episode of Undercover Boss on CBS will feature the return of Kendall-Jackson’s Rick Tigner. Unfiltered readers and fans of the show will remember that Tigner donned facial hair and fake braces for a disguise as he learned the ropes in some of Kendall-Jackson’s less glamorous jobs last year. In tomorrow night’s episode Tigner will talk about how being on the show changed his outlook as a boss and what has changed at Kendall-Jackson since then. “[Being on the show] was an incredible opportunity that gave me great insight into our employees … our biggest strength,” Tigner said in a press release. “These are talented individuals who are passionate about their work. The input they shared with me during the Undercover Boss experience helped shape the programs and initiatives we have in place today.”
OperaWine featured the wines of 100 of Italy’s best producers.
• Wine Spectator once again had a big presence at this year’s VinItaly international wine exhibition in Verona in April. The huge event kicked off with OperaWine, a grand tasting featuring 100 top Italian producers co-hosted by Wine Spectator and VinItaly at the Palazzo della Gran Guardia. In all, VinItaly 2013 welcomed nearly 150,000 visitors from more than 100 countries to the wine fair.
WineSpectator.com: News & Features
Posted by The Wine Guy | Wine Articles | Posted on May 16th, 2013
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Wine production in South Africa is expected to reach an all-time high this year after the 2013 grape harvest outstripped expectations to reach nearly 1.5m tons.
Wine News | Decanter
Posted by The Wine Guy | Wine Articles | Posted on May 16th, 2013
Golden Equity Investments enters the wine industry with acquisition of boutique Yountville winery
Augustus Weed
Posted: May 16, 2013
Golden Equity Investments, a Colorado-based investment firm owned by members of the Coors brewing family, is hoping to strike gold with wine. The company, which has no association with the brewery, is purchasing Goosecross Cellars, a boutique winery located in the heart of Napa Valley’s wine country. The sale includes the Yountville winery, tasting room and Tudor-style home, and 9 acres of vineyards planted to Bordeaux varieties. The sales price was not disclosed.
The Gorsuch family bought the property in the 1970s and planted grapes. In 1985, Geoff Gorsuch, his wife, Karen, and partners David and Colleen Topper established Goosecross Cellars. Today it makes wines from a variety of grapes, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with the majority of the fruit coming from Napa Valley. Goosecross sells most of its wines through direct-to-consumer sales and its wine club.
Gorsuch and his partners decided to sell because the winery needed financing to grow. “They realized they needed someone else to take the business to the next level,” said Matt Franklin, partner at Zepponi & Company, the wine industry merger and acquisition advisory firm that coordinated the sale.
Golden Equity Investments (GEI) was looking for a small-scale winery with the potential for growth to diversify its portfolio. “We picked this winery because it’s small, because of its location and because of the potential I see in this business, versus wanting to become a big conglomerate in the wine industry,” said Christi Coors Ficeli, manager at GEI. Coors Ficeli, who has 13 years of experience in the beer industry, was interested in Goosecross because of its hands-on business model. Following the sale she is moving her family to Napa to take over the day-to-day operations at the winery.
This is GEI’s first foray into the wine industry. Formed in 2011 by members of the Coors family, the Golden, Colo., firm provides financing for midsize manufacturing companies. Besides wine, its other major investment is in the textile company Outlast Technologies.
Coors Ficeli and the rest of GEI’s executives plan to update the tasting room in Yountville and are considering how best to grow the brand. Geoff Gorsuch, the winery’s current winemaker, will stay on to help manage vineyards and winery operations while GEI looks for a potential winemaker to take over production. Ficeli said the company doesn’t plan to make any major changes to the current lineup of wines, adding, “the people who enjoy Goosecross today are going to be able to enjoy the same great wines in the future.”
WineSpectator.com: News & Features
