Treasury Wine Estates has sold its Wildwood Vineyard in California’s Napa Valley for a reported $US25million.
Napa’s Heitz Cellar acquired the 54-acre vineyard in Rutherford from Sterling Vineyards, which is owned by TWE.
A TWE spokesperson said: “The vineyard was considered non-core to the business’ requirements.
“Viticulture and world-class winemaking in the US remains important to TWE, along with marketing and selling our renowned Californian wine brands.
“At the same time, we are continually looking for opportunities to ensure our asset base is in line with the requirements of the business.”
Wildwood Vineyard is adjacent to Heitz’s Trailside vineyard and it plans to combine the two properties.
“We always knew the pedigree of the wines that came from the Wildwood Vineyard,” Heitz CEO Carlton McCoy told Wine Spectator.
He said he jumped at the chance to buy the vineyard when they learned it was potentially for sale.
“For us, it was the quality of the dirt and the history there,” he noted.
According to Sterling Vineyards, the Wildwood site is situated between the Silverado Trail and Conn Creek with deep, well-drained soils. The vineyard is principally planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, but also includes Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Chardonnay vines.
TWE’s California wine brands include Sterling Vineyards, Beaulieu Vineyard, Beringer Vineyards and Stag’s Leap Winery.
The wine giant sold its iconic Blossom Hill Winery on California’s Central Coast to Napa-based Delicato Family Vineyards in 2017.
The acquisition did not include any brands, but was used to support Delicato growing its capacity by 4 million cases annually.
