Last word on Ascentia…maybe
On June 11 I wrote, “It’s just too early to celebrate the return of these 5 wineries ‘to local hands’.” Now we learn that more than half of the $209 million purchase price that Ascentia and partners paid for the 5 labels came from a company called VinREIT, which is a business partnership between Napa-based Global Wine Partners and Entertainment Properties Trust (EPT), a real estate investment firm based in Kansas City, Mo. EPT’s other holdings include megaplexes, ski resorts, retail centers and office complexes in dozens of U.S. states as well as Canada. Again, nothing wrong with a big investment company buying wineries in California, but it’s not what I would describe as “local hands.”
Nice, blog-site, Steve. And I appreciate this post. Like most things in life, big wine brand ownership is too complicated for most to care about. “Just give me a simple answer!” they cry. And a simple “returned to local hands” has a nice, warm, fuzzy, hometown feel to it. But it doesn’t make me care much.
A city council person here in Ukiah once said to me (about Leadership Mendocino, an area educational program), “The more I know about something, the more I care about it.” Perhaps we avoid learning more to avoid engaging.