January 24, 2023

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

The Wine Group (TWG) has acquired the Paicines Vineyards – a collection of vineyards totaling more than 1,300 acres located in the Paicines American Viticulture Area (Paicines AVA) in San Benito, County, California.

The seller was an undisclosed winery that was exclusively advised throughout the transaction by the Mendrin Group, a leading agricultural brokerage, consulting, and advisory firm. Based in California, the group specializes in the valuation, marketing, sale, and acquisition of agricultural assets and vertically integrated agribusinesses in the U.S. and beyond. 

Warmer than other growing regions in San Benito but cooler than the Central Valley, the Paicines AVA is a known, high-quality growing region on California’s Central Coast that has experienced a resurgence of interest, having been the source of well-respected brands such as Almaden and Paul Masson. 

“The Paicines Vineyards offer a great blend of water security, scale, production, quality, and overall value as an asset to produce coastal red and white wine grapes for our wine programs currently met with strong demand,” stated John Sutton, CEO, The Wine Group.

Headquartered in Livermore, California, TWG is the second largest wine producer by volume in the U.S., selling 53 million cases in 2020,  following only E & J Gallo Winery, which sold 70 million that same year. 

The group has several facilities throughout California – in Cutler, Fresno, Glen Ellen, Livermore, Madera, McFarland, Ripon, SAnger, Soledad, and Tracy, and another in Westfield, New York. Outside of the U.S., TWG has operations in Loxton, Australia, one of the top wine-producing regions in the country.

In addition to its vineyards and winery holdings, the group sources grapes from the leading growing regions of the world, including Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, and from the Central Coast, North Coast, and Central Valley regions of California.

Today, TWG is the maker of some of the most-respected wine brands in the U.S. including Cupcake, Franzia, Benziger, Imagery, AVA Grace, 7 Deadly, and more. 

“At TWG we are proud to make a positive environmental impact and preserve our land for generations to come,” stated the company. “We demonstrate our environmental stewardship through our commitment to clean energy, our certification of all TWG vineyards (covering thousands of acres) as sustainable or biodynamic, and requiring our third-party grape producers to do the same. This is not only good for the land, it’s good for the future and for the wines we make.” 

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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