By Chris Rauber, San Francisco Business Times, Nov. 5, 2008
 Calistoga’s famed Chateau Montelena Winery said Wednesday it has ended a sale agreement with French businessman Michel Reybier because the potential buyer was unable to meet terms of the deal. Officials at the 127-year-old winery said plans to sell the property to Reybier Investments fell through because it “has been unable to meet its obligations” under the contract it signed with the Barrett family, which owns Chateau Montelena, one of Napa Valley’s best known wineries. Further details were not forthcoming. The family has decided to retain ownership of the upper Napa Valley property and will not offer the winery for sale, officials said Nov. 5. The Reybier deal had been expected to close last month. “The process that just ended did not result in the outcome we or Mr. Reybier desired,” Jim Barrett, the winery’s managing general partner, said in the statement. “However, we find ourselves energized by the enthusiasm and vision expressed by all the parties who bid for ownership of Chateau Montelena. We now embark on a pursuit with which we are familiar and uniquely capable -- to realize the full potential of this unique and special property.” |
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Celia Wins Winemaker of the Year |
By Richard Nalley, Food & Wine, Sept. 20, 2008  Although Celia Masyczek makes some of the most sought-after wines in Napa Valley—her client list includes small-estate, ultra-high-end Cabernet producers DR Stephens, Keever, Cornerstone and Scarecrow (which has a waiting list for the waiting list), as well as Lindstrom, Husic, Kelly Fleming and Hollywood & Vine—she never imagined she would become a winemaker. Growing up as the daughter of an avid collector and basement winemaker in Medford, Oregon, the 48-year-old assumed that wine would be no more than a hobby for her: “When I was a kid, the image of a winemaker was an old Italian man,” she explains. One tour through the enology classrooms at UC Davis in the late 1970s convinced her otherwise. Full story... |
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