NAPA VALLEY -- PlumpJack Group today said it acquired the 40-acre Steltzner Vineyards property in the Stags Leap District of Napa Valley to produce estate-grown wines from that region.
[caption id="attachment_48228" align="alignleft" width="469" caption="The sale of the Steltzner Vineyard property doesn't include the Stelztner brand or other family vineyards."][/caption]
The acquisition include 36 acres of cabernet, merlot, malbec, cabernet franc, tintoria and pinotage vines and winery at 5998 Silverado Trail. It doesn't include the Steltzner brand or other vineyards the Steltzner family has in the Stags Leap and Oak Knoll growing districts.
Dick Steltzner, who purchased the property in 1965 and started the winery in 1977, said in a statement that he plans to make the wine from another location. The purchase price wasn't disclosed.
"PlumpJack Group was presented with an opportunity to purchase an exceptional vineyard from a pioneering grape grower, Dick Steltzner," said John Conover, general manager of PlumpJack Winery. "This vineyard reflects our vision and commitment to estate-grown wines, allows us to produce wines from the Stags Leap District, and helps meet the growing demand for extraordinary wines."
PlumpJack Group now has estate wineries in Oakville (PlumpJack Winery), Howell Mountain (called CADE) and Stags Leap districts.
The winemaker for the Stags Leap facility is Jeff Owens, formerly assistant winemaker at CADE. Tony Biagi, winemaker for both CADE and PlumpJack Winery, will continue to mentor Mr. Owens.
The winery in Stags Leap will make about 10,000 cases annually. The first wine under the new ownership will be a 2011 estate cabernet sauvignon, to be released next year. A second brand of wines will be sold at the winery only, starting this summer when a temporary tasting room opens. Wines will retail for $30 to $150 a bottle.
A new hospitality room is set to open in 2015. Plans call for a LEED Platinum--certified winery to be built on the property.
The PlumpJack Group portfolio, co-founded by Gavin Newsom and Gordon Getty, also includes PlumpJack Cafe Squaw Valley, the PlumpJack Balboa Cafe in San Francisco, Balboa Cafe in Mill Valley, PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn, MatrixFillmore, PlumpJackSport retail clothing stores in Squaw Valley and at The Carneros Inn, PlumpJack Wines stores in San Francisco’s Cow Hollow and Noe Valley neighborhoods, The Carneros Inn, The Orchard--Carneros Living, Boon Fly Cafe and Farm in Napa Valley and PlumpJack Development Fund.
