Per Tim Fish of the Wine Spectator: Jackson Family Wines raised its bet on high-end Pinot Noir today with the purchase of Siduri, a Sonoma-based producer that has helped define the style of modern California Pinot with its numerous single-vineyard wines.
The sale includes the Siduri and Novy brands, winery equipment and inventory. Adam Lee, who founded the winery with his wife, Dianna, in 1994, will continue as lead winemaker for Siduri and Novy for at least three years. Dianna is stepping back from her duties at the winery.
No sales price was made available. Interesting sale, since it's really just the brand--they own no vineyards and even their winemaking facility is leased--and three years of Adam Lee sticking around as winemaker.
But good for Adam and Dianna. They've participated hugely in the revolution that is California pinot noir and thrived where many failed. To borrow from Tom Hill, I was there at the very start. Before he actually went commercial, I knew Adam from the CompuServe wine forum and purchased a six pack from his first barrel (or was it two)--1994 vintage, Rose Vineyard from Anderson Valley IIRC.
“We certainly have mixed feelings, but there’s a lot of excitement for us, too,” Adam told Wine Spectator. “This is going to allow us to focus on making wine, which is why we got into the business in the first place.”
