[caption id="attachment_99472" align="aligncenter" width="501"] Shawn (left) and John Guilliams started their family winery in western Napa Valley more than three decades ago. (credit: Guilliams Vineyards)[/caption]
NAPA CARNEROS -- Two months after acquiring a 100,000-case-a-year winery on the Napa County side of Los Carneros winegrowing region, a Southern California health care products entrepreneur purchased a 10-acre vineyard near St. Helena to source cabernet sauvignon grapes for a new high-end brand.
Kieu Hoang Winery (707-253-1615, KieuHoangWinery.com) on Sept. 12 purchased Guilliams Vineyards at 3851 Spring Mountain Rd. in the Spring Mountain appellation from John and Shawn Guilliams for an undisclosed amount.
[caption id="attachment_99473" align="alignright" width="300"] Guilliams Vineyards[/caption]
The Guilliams family has been operating it since 1979. Located above 2,000 feet, it has seven acres of vines -- 80 percent cabernet sauvignon, 10 percent merlot and 10 percent cabernet franc -- on four types of soil, as well as a home, tasting room and small winery. Their wines have sold for up to $300 a bottle. In the latest releases, the 2010 reserve cab retails for $70 a bottle. Production averages 1,200 cases a year.
Mr. Guilliams has agreed to stay on as consulting winemaker for a new brand, Tennobudo, that will be at the top end of Kieu Hoang's wines, according to Ian Scally, head of business development for Kieu Hoang's RAAS Corp. products company and general manager of the winery.
"We are happy to acquire this property as we strive to grow, blend, bottle and offer wine lovers from around the world the finest cabernet sauvignon," Mr. Scally said in a statement.
In June, Kieu Hoang Winery, LLC, also acquired Michael Mondavi Family Estate Winery on Dealy Lane for about $12 million. The tasting room there was set to reopen Sept. 13 after some upgrades plus new permitting and licensing, but that was delayed.
