Following in the wake of Benziger Family Winery and this week’s announcement that E&J Gallo bought Souverain and Asti Winery, another Sonoma County winery has been sold: B.R. Cohn Winery has been sold to Vintage Wine Estates.
The price for sale has not been released.
Vintage Wine Estates is based in Santa Rosa and owns a vast collection of wineries, including Sonoma’s Viansa and Clos Pegase, Cosentino, and Girard.
In a press release, Cohn states that operations at the winery will continue as usual. However, Cohn’s statement about the decline of family wineries in the region is a sad truth:
“Like a number of folks in the Valley who have sold in recent years, it looks like we are at the end of the era of family owned wineries. It is becoming increasingly difficult to compete and grow family-run businesses in this new environment where bigger entities with more resources are taking over.”
Cohn plans on focusing on the Doobie Brothers, who he has been managing for 46 years and the upcoming Sonoma Music Festival. brcohn.com
Well , sorry to hear of these events , but time marches on . Doesn’t look like any more shows at the winery .
It’s all about the drought. Water is getting expensive and having a farm is risky business, and that is the real truth. Bail out while you can still get a good price for the vineyards and business. Betting on El Nino is not worth the risk.
Bruce Cohn is a very savvy guy. He moved his annual music festival out of the Glen Ellen winery this year, and even took his (the winery’s name) out of the event title — so he has established and now clearly owns the Festival as an independent entity.
Families and business – always a dynamic situation.