Wine Country Real Estate Blog

Buying a piece of History in Wine Country, Fiji Water announced it will purchase it’s second vineyard and winery from Landmark in August 2011.   Landmark was founded in 1974 in Windosor by Bill Mabry.  Damaris Deere Ethridge (of the John Deere Tractor family) was one of the original investors.  She took control of Landmark in 1989 and moved the firm to Sonoma Valley and built a winery.

Michael Deere Calhoun (her son) and his wife Mary joined the company in 1992 as her partners, and the couple became the face of the winery. They were able to hire wine consultant Helen Turley and winemaker Eric Stern.  This team of Turley and Stern helped improve the quality of the wine, and The Overlook Chardonnay has appeared on Wine Spectator‘s Top 100 list six times.

The Calhoun’s have no children, and so there was not a “legacy” transition for them to retire.  They sold to Fiji Water (owned by Roll Global) in part because it gave them that exit opportunity.  They will not be staying on, however winemaker Greg Stach will continue to work with the new owners.

Sonoma’s Landmark Vineyards, has always been known for high-quality Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah. The new owners will continue purchasing grapes beyond the 11-acre vineyard Landmark owns with grapes from several well-known vineyards, including Heintz, Kanzler, Sangiacomo and Bien Nacido. Roll plans to continue with the current contracts, and possibly expand the brand, which makes about 20,000 cases a year. “Look, we’re farmers at heart,” said owner Stewart Resnick.  And indeed, Roll currently owns Pom Wonderful pomegranate juice, flower delivery service Teleflora, Paramount citrus, which grows and sells fresh citrus, and Paramount Farms, which does the same for almonds and pistachios.

Roll Global also purchased Justin Vineyards at the end of last year.  Resnick said that the Fiji sales force will be able to sell the wine side of the business too. “There’s a lot of good wines around. But the problem is that people don’t know how to get them to market,” said Resnick. “We think we’re good at getting them to market.”  It’s a good business to be in!

If you are interested in purchasing a vineyard in Napa or buying a winery in Sonoma Valley, call Mark Stornetta at 707-815-8749.  I also represent many homes with land and small vineyards in California.  Connect with me on Facebook, Twitter or Yelp!