Five California Wine Brands Come Home

Jim DeBonis, former COO of Beam Wine Estates, has announced the formation of Ascentia Wine Estates, Healdsburg. Ascentia Wine Estates' first major acquisition is a portfolio of wineries representing a million-case annual production of highly rated wines five from California and three from the Pacific Northwest. The company also acquired 646 acres of prime vineyard land. Ascentia Wine Estates acquired the portfolio of labels from Constellation Brands.

The newly-formed company comprises a group of investors that includes William and Peter Deutsch, proprietors of leading wine importer W.J. Deutsch & Sons, Ltd., and GESD Capital Partners, a San Francisco-based private equity food and beverage investor.

"We are thrilled with this acquisition," says Ascentia CEO DeBonis. "These wines are consistently highly-rated and we are confident the brands will flourish in our highly focused portfolio. The size of the Ascentia portfolio, the superior quality of the wines, and our partnership with W.J. Deutsch & Sons, Ltd., who will serve as our exclusive sales and marketing agent, allows for immediate strength in the marketplace.

Temecula, California: wine-country getaway package

Napa, shmappa. Skip the long drive and head instead to Southern California’s own wineries lightly peppering our region from Malibu on down to San Diego. One of the more winery-dense areas is Temecula. If you’re looking for a lure, Temecula Creek Inn offers a package with a stay, tickets to wineries and lots of opportunities to taste-test.

Deal: Here’s the scoop on the Wine Country Getaway package: For $335 and up per night (pre-tax and based on double occupancy), you and your companion get a room, a bottle of local wine, breakfast, a picnic lunch, a regional wine-accompanied dinner at the hotel’s Temet Grill and tickets to select local wineries. You’ll visit three wineries; Falkner Winery, Leonese Cellars and Stuart Cellars are among those chosen for guests’ packages.

He put California wine on the map

To say Robert Mondavi was to American wine what Julia Child was to French food would not be an exaggeration. Over his long life, especially after opening his eponymous winery in 1966, he did as much as anyone could do to put American wine on the international stage.

"Everybody in the wine business needs to be grateful to him. He made the California wine industry," said Anthony Terlato, chairman of the Terlato Wine Group and Terlato Wines International, which are based in Lake Bluff. "He was unselfish; he never worried about making money. He was concerned about great wine. He wanted to make great wine."

Terlato met Mondavi in 1955 when he traveled to California on his honeymoon. He spent a week on the Mondavi Ranch, tasting wines with Mondavi and watching, fascinated, as he undertook wine training with the wait staff at restaurants in San Francisco. That wasn't done much then.

Calif. wine patriarch Robert Mondavi dead at 94

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Robert Mondavi, the vintner who built his career and helped an iconic Northern California industry blossom by insisting that Napa Valley wines can compete with the best in the world, died in the valley Friday. He was 94.

Mondavi died peacefully at his home in Yountville, Robert Mondavi Winery spokeswoman Mia Malm said.

"It is hard to imagine anyone having more of a lasting impact on California's $20 billion-a-year wine industry than Robert Mondavi," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement. Mondavi, said the governor, was "a tireless entrepreneur who transformed how the world felt about California wine, and an unforgettable personality to everyone who knew him."