Bloomberg reported on Nov. 11 that Sycamore Partners was “Weighing $1 Billion Sale of Stag’s Leap Wine.” The Bloomberg article stated that, “Sycamore Partners is considering selling Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars for about $1 billion just one month after acquiring the label from Altria Group Inc., according to people with knowledge of the matter.” They […]
Continue readingRiboli drilling test water wells for possible Rabbit Ridge Winery Purchase
October 19, 2021
Full text, Riboli Declaration (premium subscriber link) Riboli Paso Robles, LLC., has expressed interest in buying the Rabbit Ridge Winery and its vineyards. The LLC, an entity formed by the owners of San Antonio Winery, Inc. for the purchase of real estate properties, is currently drilling test wells to see if they would move forward. […]
Continue readingStep-by-step: The alleged Reimers/Torick/Langtry conspiracy as charged in court papers
October 4, 2021
Previous court filings reported by Wine Industry Insight (links below) contained relatively non-specific and often incomplete details about the case. June 24, 2021: Were smoke-impacted grapes & wine laundered? Lake County Court Battle Highlights Taint Ambiguities & Winery-Grower Tension June 18 2021: Grape insurance fraud allegations, smoke taint damages to oak tanks, and the perils […]
Continue readingSimultaneously evicted and not. Is Rabbit Ridge the Schrödinger’s Cat of Wineries?
August 25, 2021
Rabbit Ridge Winery, aka Rabbit Ridge Wine Sales, aka Rabbit Ridge Vineyards as well as its owners seem to be simultaneously alive and dead according to whomever has opened the lid to the Schrödinger box. Sale delayed by current confusion. Significantly, the Schrödinger’s Cat-like confusion has delayed a sale of the property formerly used by the […]
Continue readingRabbit Ridge Winery Bankruptcy Trustee Hires Farm Operator for 2021 Harvest; Most Grapes Still Unsold
August 17, 2021
Less than a quarter of Rabbit Ridge Winery’s 253 tons of Paso Robles wine grapes have been committed to buyers according to a 70-page, Aug. 9 court filing by court-appointed bankruptcy trustee Richard A. Marshack who is charged with overseeing the winery’s Chapter 7 asset liquidations. Table of available grapes, yield estimates and price/ton Farm […]
Continue readingRight-wine extremist from L.A. who turned a Lodi vineyard into a shooting range cops a plea with Feds
August 14, 2021
Right-wing extremist Benjamin Jong Ren Hung who, according to FBI court documents, turned his family’s Lodi-area vineyard into a militia-style, illegal firearms training camp — complete with human target mannequins — has signed a plea deal with federal prosecutors. (Full 37-page plea deal document available for premium Wine Executive News subscribers. [download id=”120841″]) As previously […]
Continue readingConstellation Wins $2.3 Million For Legal Fees In To Kalon battle with Vineyard House
July 30, 2021
The long-running dispute between Constellation Brands (Robert Mondavi Winery) and The Vineyard House over To Kalon vineyard designation rights is finally over with the judge awarding Constellation $2.3 million of the $4 million it had requested. U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of California Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers wrote in her July 28 […]
Continue readingWere smoke-impacted grapes & wine laundered? Lake County Court Battle Highlights Taint Ambiguities & Winery-Grower Tension
June 24, 2021
Article #1: Grape insurance fraud allegations, smoke taint damages to oak tanks, and the perils of handshake deals play out in Lake County courtroom As mentioned in the previous article, this court case hinges on whether or not wine and grapes delivered to Langtry Farms by Torick Farms/Hugh Reimers were smoke tainted and — because […]
Continue readingGrape insurance fraud allegations, smoke taint damages to oak tanks, and the perils of handshake deals play out in Lake County courtroom
June 18, 2021
Accusations of a proposed smoke taint insurance fraud scheme have been raised in the Lake County lawsuit between Langtry Farms (“Langtry”) and Hugh Reimers/Torick Farms (“Torick”) over wine storage fees, and alleged taint damage to a Langtry’s oak tanks. The legal action also raises caution flags against handshake deals — performing work without a signed, […]
Continue readingDeadlines and dueling appraisals set up Rabbit Ridge Winery property for an existential turning point in mid-June
May 25, 2021
Deadlines and dueling appraisals converge on June 14 when Northern Holding LLC — the insolvent owner of property once owned by Winemaker Erich Russell and Rabbit Ridge Winery of Paso Robles — faces an existential turning point in its Chapter 11 case. Currently scheduled for a June 10 bankruptcy auction are 470 acres of vineyards […]
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