Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/561374
w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m S e p t - O c t 2 015 | V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T 1 3 he recent acquisitions of three estab- lished Sonoma County wineries point to an increasingly challenging market environ- ment for mid-sized, family-owned wineries. On March 24, E. & J. Gallo announced its pur- chase of J Vineyards & Winery in Healdsburg. In addition to the winery facility, Gallo purchased more than 300 acres of vineyards in Sonoma County. A few months later, on June 8, it was announced that The Wine Group had purchased Benziger Family Winery. The sale included the winery and the family's 85-acre estate in Glen Ellen. On July 22, Bruce Cohn reported that his B.R. Cohn Winery, also in Glen Ellen, was being sold to Vintage Wine Estates. While Mike Benziger cited health concerns and a desire to slow down a bit as his primary reasons for selling the winery, he also pointed to increasingly challenging market conditions. "It's becoming very difficult to be a family business with a medium-sized winery," he said, "not so much because we can't have good one- on-one relationships with the customer through direct marketing, but because it's becoming more and more difficult to go to market through the three-tier system." In today's landscape, he continued, size mat- ters. "That critical mass size seems to be getting bigger all the time. Either you're going to be a small winery or you're going to be a big winery." At the time of the sale, Benziger's annual pro- duction was approximately 185,000 cases, of Winery Acquisitions Highlight Market Challenges NEWS FLASH California Extends PD/GWSS Funding California's winegrowers have voted to continue the assessment on grapes to fund research on Pierce's disease, glassy-winged sharpshooter (PD/GWSS) and other pests and diseases that threaten California's wine grapes. The vote was 83.44% in favor of continuing the assessment, which is currently set at 75 cents on every $1,000 of value, until March 2021. Empire Wine Bill Passes The "Empire wine bill" passed in both New York's Assembly and Sen- ate on June 15. The bill limits the ability of the state liquor authority to penalize licensees based on perceived violations of the laws of other states, such as shipping wine to consumers in states where direct-to- consumer shipping is prohibited. Its sister bill, S04446A, is still pend- ing in the state's Senate. Wine Market Council Issues Research Grant The St. Helena, Calif.-based Wine Market Council awarded its first- ever research grant. Texas Tech University doctoral student Nicholas Johnston received $10,000 from the Council to research how Mil- lennials respond to traditional and less-traditional wine packaging. Johnston will present his findings at Wine Market Council's 2016 con- sumer research conferences. Wine Trade Alliance to Launch Women of the Vine president Deborah Brenner is launching a new, membership-based Women of the Vine trade alliance, governed by an advisory board of beverage industry executives. With the mission to empower and equip women worldwide to advance their careers in the alcohol beverage industry, the group will launch later this sum- mer, anchored by a new website. For more industry news briefs, visit the News Flash page on V&WM's website: http://www.vwmmedia.com/magazine/web-exclusive1.asp. BY TINA CAPUTO Benziger Family Winery was sold to The Wine Group for an estimated $90-$100 million.