Brion Wise purchasing neighboring Moon Mountain property

Sonoma Valley's B. Wise Vineyards announced Thursday it is acquiring Amapola Creek Vineyards and Winery from Richard Arrowood, who is retiring.

The price of the acquisition was not immediately clear.

According to a press release, Brion Wise, the owner of B. Wise, plans to continue producing Bordeaux-style cabernet sauvignon wines under the Amapola Creek label. Arrowood will fill a role as consultant.

Said Wise in a statement: “This acquisition is ideal for both entities. Amapola Creek abuts our estate vineyards on Moon Mountain and complements our portfolio. Richard is legendary with his old-world style Cabernets and one of the top winemakers in Sonoma Cabernet.” He added, “Acquiring Amapola Creek allows us to maintain our progress in luxury wine as well as fuel strategic growth for the

company.”

“Alis and I are thrilled to transition ownership of Amapola Creek over to Brion,” Arrowood said in a statement. He praised “Brion's long-standing commitment to quality along with his vision and passion for the business. It is exciting. He is a good steward of the land who brings the shared principles of the two wineries.”

Arrowood Vineyard & Winery was launched in 1985 and sold to Kendall-Jackson in 2006 according to the Press Democrat, which previously reported Richard Arrowood stayed on as winemaker but resigned in 2010 to focus his full attention on Amapola Creek. Before that Richard Arrowood worked at Korbel in 1965 before moving to Chateau St. Jean from 1974 thru 1990.

B. Wise and Amapola Creek have are neighbors on Moon Mountain. B. Wise was founded in 2002 with its winery in Sonoma on Moon Mountain. Its tasting lounge located on Highway 12 in Kenwood.

Founded in 2005, Amapola Creek has roughly 20 acres of organic vineyards in the Moon Mountain district and producers over 5,000 cases annually.