North Bay Business Journal

Real estate and corporate attorney Mario Zepponi started Zepponi & Company as a wine industry mergers and acquisitions consulting practice.

Mr. Zepponi will be part of a panel discussion at the Impact Napa 2012 conference the morning of Aug. 30. He spoke with the Business Journal about the rapidly changing landscape for wine M & A.

NAPA — From a farmer of thousands of North Coast acres of winegrapes to producers of Napa Valley’s most prestigious wine brands to a broker of industry mergers and acquisitions, the speaker lineup for the Business Journal’s Impact Napa conference later this month includes major figures in Napa County’s wine industry.

Mario Zepponi is one of three principals of Santa Rosa-based Zepponi & Company, which counsels wine industry clients on mergers and acquisitions as well as corporate strategy. His background as an attorney includes structuring lease and sale agreements. He was part of the Impact Napa conference panel on Sept. 1 and spoke on how well the wine business, particularly in Napa County, has weathered the global financial storm and the outlook for mergers-and-acquisitions activity. The Business Journal asked him about the impact of the economy on industry operations, valuations and deal prices.

NAPA — The Business Journal will host its annual Impact Napa Conference on Sept. 1 featuring highly sought-after economist Chris Thornberg as well as presentations from local experts on issues important to Napa businesses, including wine and tourism.

Increased wine mergers and acquisitions activity anticipated this year likely won’t be dominated by troubled-finance sales, according to one of the experts at the Business Journal wine business conference Thursday.

The business of making ultrapremium and luxury wine may be reaching a turning point after almost three years of heavy competition for consumer dollars.

North Coast “marquee” wine labels and cash-flowing brands and other assets are more dominant in the deals getting done these days than discount transactions on troubled assets, according to a top wine industry transaction adviser.

NAPA — The Business Journal will host its annual Impact Napa Conference on Aug. 18 featuring a regional overview by highly sought-after economist Chris Thornberg as well as presentations from local experts on issues important to Napa businesses, including wine, tourism and the vitality of downtown Napa.

The event will be held Wednesday, Aug. 18 at the Meritage Resort in Napa. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m., and the program runs from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Tickets are $45 per person or $450 for a table of 10 (with company name on sign). To register, contact Linda Perkins at 707-521-5264 or events@busjrnl.com by Aug. 13, or go to www.NorthBayBusinessJournal.com.

NORTH BAY – Steve Carlin, founder and chief executive officer of Oxbow Public Market, and Mario Zepponi, winery and investment broker at Zepponi & Company, will be among the presenters at the North Bay Business Journal’s Impact Napa conference on Wednesday, Aug. 18 at the Meritage Resort in Napa.

SANTA ROSA – Winery and vineyard investment broker Mario Zepponi, bulk wine and grape brokerage founder Joe Ciatti and Matt Franklin, who helped start a major Napa CPA firm and more recently led a wine business mergers-and-acquisitions firm in San Francisco, have formed a wine industry transaction advisory firm called Zeppponi & Company.

There is an upside in this turbulent market for investors seeking a winery brand, facility or vineyard, and for those sellers who have what investors want.