Uncle Terry does it!

Domaine Alfred Winery gets new owner!

Crimson Wine Group’s undisclosed purchase price includes a vineyard, tasting room, two homes south of SLO
By Melanie Cleveland
A Napa-based company that specializes in high-end wines is buying the Edna Valley’s Domaine Alfred Winery for an undisclosed sum, both buyer and seller confirmed Tuesday.
Crimson Wine Group is a subsidiary of Leucadia National Corp., a publicly traded $8 billion investment firm based in New York City, with executive offices in Salt Lake City.
The deal is expected to close Thursday, according to winery owner Terry Speizer and Crimson President Erle Martin.
The winery employs 14 people and includes 130 acres of vineyards off Orcutt Road south of San Luis Obispo, as well as a new winemaking center with “custom crush” capacity, the Domaine Alfred label, new equipment, a tasting room, a wine club and two homes, according to individuals involved with the deal. The property on Orcutt Road is zoned to allow up to six more homes.
Speizer declined to disclose the sale price. The property was listed for $30 million last year.
The right buyer
“It was more important to me to sell to the right party, one that makes world class wines, does biodynamic farming, and has the financial wherewithal,” he said. “They are the perfect steward to take it to the next level.” Biodynamic agriculture is a method of organic farming.
Speizer, who bought the property in 1997 for about $1 million, has devoted his time to building the Domaine Alfred brand’s quality and reputation in its production of high-end pinot noir, chardonnay and syrah wines.
In 2005, he was one of three people who won a U. S. Supreme Court case that lifted various states’ bans on shipments of wine from out-of-state. That decision has helped increase sales of all California wines to consumers outside the state.
Speizer, who was making about 10,000 cases a year at the time, had since upped Domaine Alfred’s production to about 25,000 cases a year. His chardonnay, grenache, syrah, and pinot noir varietals retail from about $20 to $90 a bottle.
Best in Edna Valley
Martin said his firm bought Domaine Alfred because it represents the best of the Edna Valley wine-growing region and fits the company’s practice of owning niche luxury wine producers.
Domaine Alfred’s pinot noirs have scored 90-plus on Wine Spectator magazine’s 100-point scale, making them some of the elite wines of the Central Coast, Martin said. Its Chamisal Vineyards Califa 2004 scored 96 points.
“Terry Speizer successfully restored the Chamisal vineyards to one of the great vineyards of the Central Coast, bringing in biodynamic farming and really meticulous practices,” Martin said. “Our first job is to really understand what has made this place successful to date, and then start looking at opportunities to expand.”
Crimson’s portfolio includes a highly acclaimed Pine Ridge Winery in the Stags Leap district of Napa Valley; Double Canyon Vineyards, with vineyards and a winery under development in Washington state; and Archery Summit in Willamette Valley, Ore., which Wine Spectator calls the Rolls- Royce of Oregon pinot noir.
Boosting its profile
Calling the vineyard holdings at Domaine Alfred “spectacular” and “one of the great vineyards of the Central Coast,” Martin believes the expertise of Crimson’s corporate sales and marketing team for their entire portfolio will help increase Domaine Alfred’s exposure and revenue.
The winery’s finance and accounting arm will also move to Crimson headquarters in Napa, Martin said.
Domaine Alfred winemaker Fintan du Fresne will remain to manage the day-to-day operations of the winery and vineyard, Martin said.
Du Fresne, who also has worked for Adelaida Cellars in Paso Robles and Calera Wine Co. in Hollister, replaced winemaker Mike Sinor in 2006.
Speizer says he intends to limit his wine business to “drinking wine … lots of kinds,” and he will venture instead into the solar and geothermal energy business, although he declined to name a company or his potential partners.