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Heitz Wine Cellars, a renowned Napa Valley winery, has been sold to Gaylon Lawrence Jr., whose family owns one of the country’s largest agricultural businesses.
The transaction includes 425 acres of vineyards, the winery and the tasting room. The purchase price was not disclosed, thoughan unnamed source in Wine Businessspeculated that it could go up to $180 million.
Winemaker David Heitz and president and CEO Kathleen Heitz Myers, the second-generation stewards of the winery, will be stepping down from their roles. Robert Boyd, previously of Joseph Phelps Winery, has been named president and CEO.
“It’s an exciting day,” Boyd said. “The whole Heitz family came to a decision that it was time for someone else to take it on.”
Heitz was not considered a likely candidate for a sale. Family-owned for more than 50 years, it was expected to pass into the hands of its third generation, in particular to David Heitz’s son Harrison. While it’s not the first family-owned winery in Napa Valley to be sold to an outside company, it may be the highest-profile one other than Robert Mondavi Winery, which is now owned by Constellation Brands.
Since Joe and Alice Heitz bought an 8-acre vineyard in St. Helena in 1961, their family has built Heitz Wine Cellars into one of Napa Valley’s leading estates. What began with that modest vineyard has since expanded to include the Ink Grade, Linda Falls and Valley Oak Ranch sites. The winery produces 35,000 to 40,000 cases of wine annually.
Heitz is best known for its Cabernet Sauvignon from Martha’s Vineyard, which is owned by the May family. The Lawrence transaction does not affect the ownership of Martha’s Vineyard, and Boyd expects that Heitz will continue making the wine. “There’s no plan to change any of the existing relationships,” he said.
Lawrence, who lives in Memphis and whose headquarters are in Arkansas, is a newcomer to the wine industry. But he is a veteran of agriculture in other forms. His family business, the 75-year-old Lawrence Group, owns one of the largest citrus groves in Florida, in addition to land in Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi. Lawrence has expanded his family’s business interests to include seven banks, including Tennessee’s F&M Bank, purchased in 2015 for$85 million in cash.
Boyd indicated that this would not be Lawrence’s last winery transaction. “It’s hopefully the first of many investments that he makes,” Boyd said of his new boss. “He’s looking at vineyard acquisitions, he’s looking at other winery acquisitions. He is certainly excited by our industry.
“The main thing that we want to tell people is that there’s no plans to change the wines stylistically,” he said. That’s a crucial statement, since Heitz Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet is famous for its herbal profile — a flavor often described as like eucalyptus. While many attribute that flavor to the presence of eucalyptus trees in Martha’s Vineyard, Kathleen Heitz Myers has long maintained that it’s simply a characteristic of the Cabernet Sauvignon grape variety.
“There’s always a little bit of mint in Cabernet Sauvignon,” she said in a 2015 interview. “It’s a varietal characteristic.”
No immediate personnel changes are anticipated, apart from the departures of the Heitz siblings, Boyd said. Managing winemaker Brittany Sherwood remains on staff. “We’re hoping for continuity in our winemaking team,” Boyd said, “and I’m hoping that means that if you look at a bottle of 2018 Heitz wines, it will have the same characteristics it always has.”
When asked whether theSt. Helena tasting roomwill continue to offer complimentary tastings — a rarity in Napa Valley — Boyd said there are no plans now to start charging. “But let’s just say it’s early days,” he added.
Esther Mobley is The San Francisco Chronicle’s wine, beer and spirits writer. E-mail:emobley@sfchronicle.comTwitter:@Esther_mobleyInstagram:@esthermob
