The Duckhorn Portfolio has offloaded Longwinds Vineyard, an asset in Washington state, to local group Quilceda Creek Winery.
The vineyard, established in 2014 and primarily planted with Cabernet and Merlot, spans nearly 17 acres on Red Mountain in Columbia Valley. It is situated less than a mile from Quilceda Creek’s Galitzine vineyard, at an elevation of 1,100 feet.
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Robert Hanson, CEO of The Duckhorn Portfolio, told Just Drinks that the sale is part of the US wine company’s strategy to focus on its core portfolio.
Grapes from the vineyard had been used for the group’s Canvasback wines.
Hanson said: “We have been reallocating resources away from Canvasback since we closed the tasting room at the end of May. Selling the Longwinds Vineyard on Red Mountain was a step in that reallocation.
“This is part of an overall strategy to focus our portfolio and invest resources to maximise the potential of our core four wineries and invest resources to maximise the potential of our core four wineries – Duckhorn Vineyards, Kosta Browne, Decoy and Sonoma-Cutrer – as well as Goldeneye, Calera and Greenwing.”
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By GlobalDataQuilceda Creek, established in 1978 by Alex and Jeannette Golitzin, released its first vintage in 1979. Its vineyards include Champoux and Mach One.
In a statement issued by Metis, an advisor on the deal, Quilceda Creek sees “operational efficiencies” from the deal and the addition of fruit with “higher tannin and acid levels, providing winemaker Paul Golitzin additional components for creating complex, long-lived wines”.
Golitzin said: “The vines, at 12 years old, are just hitting their stride and I am excited to work with the additional Bordeaux clones planted here.
“We are looking forward to optimising how we farm this site under the leadership of our long-time vineyard manager Dan Nickolaus and are extremely excited about its potential.”
PJ Alviso, vice president of winegrowing for The Duckhorn Portfolio, added: “We are gratified that a winery as exceptional as Quilceda Creek appreciates the quality of the site and we are confident they will be excellent stewards.”
In response to a question from Just Drinks if The Duckhorn Portfolio intends to sell off any additional assets no longer aligned with its objectives, Hanson, who assumed the role of CEO earlier this year, said: “At this time, we do not have plans to sell any other assets.”
Besides Canvasback, The Duckhorn Portfolio is scaling back its Migration, Paraduxx and Postmark brands, a company statement from May indicated.
The Duckhorn Portfolio’s core wineries contribute to 96% of the Californian company’s net sales and are seen as the “biggest growth opportunity” within its portfolio.
