Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/100792
ues to draw buyers from around the world. ���Seventy percent of our business is being conducted with lifestyle buyers,��� said John Bergman of Bergman Euro-National, a brokerage that focuses on properties in Napa and Sonoma yet serves all of Northern California. Bergman���s lifestyle clients are a diversified group of buyers, including Europeans taking advantage of the strong Euro and wine-loving Asians drawn to the quality of life in California���s wine country. ���The market for both lifestyle and industry buyers is starting to climb,��� Bergman said. ���We have clients who are looking for good deals on properties in the $10 million to $100 million range.��� Even with low interest rates in place, Bergman hasn���t brokered a single deal in the last year that required financing. When the market is at the bottom, he noted, no one seems to be looking. ���It���s only when things start to heat up that the big money (clients) get off their wallets.��� Nonetheless, most lifestyle buyers are still investment oriented; they want a property that generates income, and that usually requires property valued at more than $5 million. ���We advise clients to invest in a good-quality vineyard and to start by making wine at a custom crush facility before they decide to build a winery,��� Bergman said. Now that wineries have begun scrambling to ensure supply, he anticipates more commercial activity from the industry���s largest players and from vintners such as Ken and Diane Wilson, who have been acquiring smaller wineries and turning them around. With the opening of St. Anne���s Crossing winery (formerly Blackstone Winery) in October 2012, the Wilsons now own eight wineries in Sonoma and Mendocino counties. ���Commercial buyers are more likely to be domestic companies, but these deals are fewer and farther between,��� said Bergman. ���In Napa and Sonoma, vineyard values have appreciated back to where they were prior to 2008, and in some cases are surpassing all-time highs that were reached before the market fell off.��� It���s not uncommon to see a site on the Napa Valley floor list for $350,000 per planted acre, and vineyards in coastal Sonoma County listed at between $85,000 and $140,000 per acre. MARKET DYNAMICS With the investment and analyst communities predicting a short supply of domestic bulk wine over the next five years, market dynamics are playing an increasingly important role as producers look to shore up their supply chain and step up planting. ���The industry has realized we���re facing a short- LO CA L K N OW L E D G E - G LO BA L R E AC H R E A L E S TAT E S E RV I C E S F O R T H E W I N E I N D U S T RY With of���ces in every major wine region of the world, we can provide the strategic market knowledge and service to successfully achieve your real estate goals. Whether you need to lease space for barrel storage, sell a winery or buy a vineyard, we can provide the local market intelligence to assist you in making the best possible decision and negotiate the most favorable terms. Byington Winery - Santa Cruz Mountains, CA Sonoma Coast Vineyard - Petaluma, CA SO LD ! BrutocaoSchoolhousePlazaMixedUseDevelopment Hwy 101, Hopland, CA 17-Acre Pinot Noir Vineyard & Winery Site Russian River Appellation We have over 7,200 employees staffing over 220 offices in more than forty countries including France, England, Italy, Germany, Chile, South America, China Hong Kong, Portugal, Canada, India, Russia, Spain, California, Oregon, Washington, New York, and Washington DC. Brian Gleason Lic #00825795 Preston Smith Lic #00429862 1101 Fifth Avenue, Suite 230, 2455 Bennett Valley Road Suite C200, Kevin Foster Lic #00915709 San Rafael 415.526.7676 Santa Rosa 707.583.8400 114 V I N EYARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT | Jan - Feb 2013 w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m