Today’s Wine Industry Insight News: Starmont Carneros Winery Facility Sold to Private Investor – Brand to remain with Schlatter Family Buyer is Prominent entrepreneur and SF Bay Area charitable benefactor The buyer of the Starmont facility is Bernard “Bernie” Orsi according to multiple high-level sources with detailed knowledge of the transaction. Those sources also […]

While the name “Napa” has come to represent pinnacle of American ultra-fine wine, in reality, 45% of the permitted production is vested in two companies with budget wine reputations — Gallo and Bronco. Those two companies account for approximately 45% of all permitted wine production in Napa County, according to Wine Industry Insight’s preliminary analysis […]

NOTE: To-Kalon has variously been written as To Kalon and ToKalon. We have chosen to use the version with a hyphen because that is the style used by the U.S. National Park Service in their Historic Landscapes Survey. Jeremy Nickel’s federal lawsuit against Constellation/Robert Mondavi Winery over its To-Kalon trademar was dismissed by a federal […]

NOTE: The text below is redacted and reformatted for improved non-lawyer readability. Among the changes are the elimination of various legal references, shortened paragraphs etc. The full original document can be found at this link (for premium subscribers) Attorneys are consistent in recommending that agreements be captured in written contracts, state laws offer a specific […]

  Bryant Family Vineyards — one of the most expensive Napa Valley “cult” wineries — may be experiencing financial problems according to a complaint filed in a U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The winery is one of the original cult wines to emerge during the early 1990s, along with wineries […]

The “Spirit of the East” is still sailing the world, but the Montesquieu group of “bespoke collection” wines from Napa Valley and beyond has capsized and is flailing about for a way to right itself with Chapter 11 filings in the Delaware District of U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Montesquieu Inc., a Delaware Corporation, filed for bankruptcy […]

Link to article 2, explaining Mendelian Randomization The recent population study of adults in China that found no cardio-protective benefits of moderate alcohol consumption should be re-examined in the context of methodological and confounding factors not addressed in the published paper. Published in early April by The Lancet, the study provoked sensational headlines among the […]

Link to main article Mendelian Randomization (MR) is a relatively new statistical method designed to provide an estimate of a causal connection between the effects of an observable exposure to a risk factor (such as alcohol consumption) on a specific outcome (such as cardiovascular events like stroke and heart attacks). It is necessary to note […]

Source: BofA/Merrill Lynch 4Q19 earnings preview – 040119) via John Heflebower, Napa   “STZ’s wine & spirits margins improved post STZ divestiture of Canadian wine assets. In addition, operating margins have benefited from on-going premiumization efforts (i.e. rationalizing lower margin value SKUs), COGS has increased due to transportation costs and higher marketing spend on brands […]