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 […]
Continue readingRabbit Ridge Winery property scheduled for bankruptcy auction in June.
May 18, 2021
NOTE: Extensive links to court filings and other documents are available to premium Wine Executive News Subscribers at the bottom of this article. Rabbit Ridge Winery in Paso Robles is facing the bankruptcy auction hammer on its winery property for the second time in two years. And this, after the second Chapter 11 in less […]
Continue readingA “Netflix of wine” is impossible with current recommendation methods because Sight & Sound dominate Smell &Taste
April 14, 2021
This is #6 in our premium, in-depth series about the quest for the Netflix of wine Article #1: How A Netflix-Style Recommender Is Vital to Reversing Wine’s Market Marginalization Article #2: Why solving the “Paradox of Choice” is a major reason Netflix’s recommender is worth $1 Bil/yr. And why wine fails at that. Article #3: […]
Continue readingWine’s best known right-wing extremist among FBI’s record number of domestic terror arrests
April 12, 2021
Domestic terrorism cases soared to an all-time high in 2020, including wine’s best-known right-wing extremist, Benjamin Jong Ren Hung who, according to the FBI, used his family’s Lodi-area vineyard as a militia-style firearms training camp — complete with human target mannequins — to prepare for engaging in violent civil disorders. As reported by Wine Industry […]
Continue reading