Michael David Winery buys Silver Oak’s Geyserville facility

Michael David Winery of Lodi announced Thursday that it has purchased Silver Oak Cellars' Geyserville winery as the latter moves into its new Alexander Valley production facility this summer.

The sale provides Michael David, a family-owned winery which has gained a large following with The 7 Deadly Zins and Freakshow brands, its first property in the premium North Coast region, where it already sources some of its grapes.

The sale includes the Tudor-style winery that can produce up to 70,000 cases annually and a 12-acre vineyard of cabernet sauvignon grapes. The purchase price was not disclosed by the parties.

'I have what I call a reverse commute. We buy a bunch of North Coast grapes to make Lodi wines,' said Kevin Phillips, vice president of operations at Michael David. 'For us, it's a pure facility play.'

Michael David will not immediately open up a tasting room at the site because it first wants to build up its Sonoma County wine portfolio, Phillips said. The majority of its wines sell for between $15 to $19 a bottle.

Silver Oak did not have a need for the Geyserville winery as it finishes completion of its new facility near the Jimtown Store in Healdsburg, said David Duncan, the winery's president and chief executive officer. It also owns the Twomey facility on Westside Road in Healdsburg, the former Roshambo facility. That brand offers pinot noir, merlot and sauvignon blanc wines.

'For me, I sold the old house and I'm moving into the new house,' Duncan said.

The new Silver Oak winery will handle more capacity of up to 100,000 cases annually for its premium cabernet sauvignon wines. It also will incorporate many of the environmental friendly features of its Oakville winery, which has been certified with a LEED Platinum status by the U.S. Green Building Council, Duncan said.

The new Silver Oak tasting room is scheduled to open in the fall.

Silver Oak has been busy lately as last week it purchased Napa Valley's Ovid winery and its 15 vineyard acres in the Pritchard Hill. Overall, the company owns 470 planted vineyard acres.

The Ovid deal came together rather easily as Duncan has been longtime friends with the winery's founders, Mark Nelson and Dana Johnson. No major changes are planned for Ovid.

'It's very important to us that they chose us to be the next steward of the property,' Duncan said. 'It's not a transaction, it's a transition.'

Santa Rosa-based wine industry mergers-and-acquisitions firm Zepponi & Company was Silver Oak's exclusive financial adviser in the Geyserville deal.