Famed Napa Valley vineyards face doomsday reckoning as mammoth winemaker announces shocking move

The future of some of Napa Valley’s most famous wine brands has been thrown into question after wine giant Treasury Wine Estates announced plans to slash more than half its portfolio, sell vineyards, and scale back operations amid the industry’s downturn.

The Australia-based company, which owns Napa names including Beringer Vineyards, Beaulieu Vineyard, Sterling Vineyards, Etude Winery, and Frank Family Vineyards, revealed this week that it plans to shrink its portfolio from 76 brands to fewer than 30 over the next several years.

The move comes as wine sales and alcohol consumption continue to fall across the United States, forcing major producers to cut costs, sell assets, and rethink their strategies, according to The San Francisco Chronicle.

Treasury said it will focus its investment on just 10 key brands, including Penfolds, Daou, Beaulieu Vineyard, Frank Family Vineyards, and Stags’ Leap Winery. Notably absent from that list were Beringer, Sterling, and Etude, fueling questions about what comes next for the historic Napa labels.

The company also plans to reduce production, sell off some wine brands, shrink its vineyard footprint across California, end certain vineyard leases, and decline to renew some grape contracts. It expects the changes to reduce annual costs by roughly 100 million Australian dollars.

The announcement follows a difficult stretch for Treasury. Six months ago, the company disclosed a $450 million writedown of its U.S. business and suspended dividend payments to shareholders, sending its stock price sharply lower.

The retrenchment comes just a few years after Treasury spent heavily to expand in California, paying $315 million for Frank Family Vineyards in 2021 and nearly $1 billion for Paso Robles-based Daou in 2023. The company is also nearing completion of a major renovation at Beaulieu Vineyard.

Former Treasury executive Robert Foye, who recently became a shareholder, had publicly criticized the company’s direction earlier this year, calling for an “accelerated sense of urgency” to address mounting challenges in the wine market.

Earlier this month, Foye said Treasury had focused on “volume chasing and order taking, rather than building the business and really trying to focus on building the brands.” He also argued the company overpaid “by $600 million” for Daou.

After Treasury unveiled its new strategy, however, Foye struck a more optimistic tone.

“I thought overall, it was a relatively good, positive day,” he said, though he remained critical of the company’s “lack of detail.”

Treasury has not identified which brands, vineyards, or properties could ultimately be sold. Foye said he believes the company will likely target lower-priced wines, particularly those selling for less than $20 a bottle, along with vineyards that produce grapes for those brands.

However, the announcement has already positively impacted Treasury’s stock, which dropped more than 50% in the past year. It rose 13% to $4.66 a share in the past 24 hours. One year ago, shares cost $8.22, the outlet reported.

Beringer, founded in 1876, remains one of the region’s most recognizable names, while Sterling reopened just three years ago after a major renovation following damage from the 2020 Glass Fire.

“Beringer and Sterling play important roles in the U.S. market and will continue to support customer and consumer needs during the transition period,” a Treasury spokesperson said. “We are not commenting on specific brand timelines or future portfolio decisions.”