Stony Hill Sold.....Again?!

[Roy_Piper]

I know none of the people involved nor the actual reason, but I can guess. And I have an opinion about what they should do, too.

Long Meadow Ranch owns Farmstead. Given the huge drop in tourism in Napa in 2020 combined with trying to turn around Stony Hill, combined with a possible total loss of 2020 on Spring Mtn… something had to give. And the owners did what they needed to do, probably at a loss, after buying it just a couple years ago.

I’ve been to Stony Hill and it needs significant replants and frankly, a new winery and needs to enter the 21st century. It needs many millions. LMR never should have bought it in the first place in my opinion and it always needed someone with huge pockets to get it where it needs to go. It has that now.

I have no idea what Jamie will do with it, stylistically, as the winemaker. My guess is we are seeing the second coming of the Mayacamas renovation… try to keep the old style but clean it up, maybe pick one brix higher, add a tasting room in town so people don’t have to climb a mountain, and significant capital expenditures. Keep the old buyers who like the old style while adding new ones. Frankly, this strategy is the hardest needle to thread in high-end wine.

I probably sell more $150+ wine in Arkansas than any winery in Napa (after Kapcsandy) and know so many people there I am surprised that I’ve never met Gaylon Lawrence Jr. My advice would be to build a new winery, add a tasting room in downtown St Helena or Yountville, replant every vine that needs it over the next 10 years, eat the losses for a decade and don’t cut corners. Prices will simply have to rise but make sure it is only commensurate with quality increase. Eventually create several “reserve” bottlings of 50-100 case sizes for club members (I know people roll their eyes at this but they will have no choice but to eventually do this due to the low prices of their wines overall.) And please God do not stop making the Riesling and Gewurztraminer!

[Adam_Frisch]

Roy, do you know if they sell any of their Riesling fruit externally?

[Roy_Piper]

Roy, do you know if they sell any of their Riesling fruit externally?

I don’t think so but if they do, let me know!

[Marc_Hauser]

I know none of the people involved nor the actual reason, but I can guess. And I have an opinion about what they should do, too.

Long Meadow Ranch owns Farmstead. Given the huge drop in tourism in Napa in 2020 combined with trying to turn around Stony Hill, combined with a possible total loss of 2020 on Spring Mtn… something had to give. And the owners did what they needed to do, probably at a loss, after buying it just a couple years ago.

I’ve been to Stony Hill and it needs significant replants and frankly, a new winery and needs to enter the 21st century. It needs many millions. LMR never should have bought it in the first place in my opinion and it always needed someone with huge pockets to get it where it needs to go. It has that now.

I have no idea what Jamie will do with it, stylistically, as the winemaker. My guess is we are seeing the second coming of the Mayacamas renovation… try to keep the old style but clean it up, maybe pick one brix higher, add a tasting room in town so people don’t have to climb a mountain, and significant capital expenditures. Keep the old buyers who like the old style while adding new ones. Frankly, this strategy is the hardest needle to thread in high-end wine.

I probably sell more $150+ wine in Arkansas than any winery in Napa (after Kapcsandy) and know so many people there I am surprised that I’ve never met Gaylon Lawrence Jr. My advice would be to build a new winery, add a tasting room in downtown St Helena or Yountville, replant every vine that needs it over the next 10 years, eat the losses for a decade and don’t cut corners. Prices will simply have to rise but make sure it is only commensurate with quality increase. Eventually create several “reserve” bottlings of 50-100 case sizes for club members (I know people roll their eyes at this but they will have no choice but to eventually do this due to the low prices of their wines overall.) And please God do not stop making the Riesling and Gewurztraminer!

Roy, this is an excellent observation. Its only flaw is that it assumes you want to actually make money at some point. A number of wineries are run as lifestyle projects and not to turn a profit. Don’t get me wrong - that’s not a judgment on my part, just an observation. But you’re right that, even to get it to a place where it’s modestly competitive will take a small fortune of capital.

[JDavisRoby]

I know none of the people involved nor the actual reason, but I can guess. And I have an opinion about what they should do, too.

Long Meadow Ranch owns Farmstead. Given the huge drop in tourism in Napa in 2020 combined with trying to turn around Stony Hill, combined with a possible total loss of 2020 on Spring Mtn… something had to give. And the owners did what they needed to do, probably at a loss, after buying it just a couple years ago.

I’ve been to Stony Hill and it needs significant replants and frankly, a new winery and needs to enter the 21st century. It needs many millions. LMR never should have bought it in the first place in my opinion and it always needed someone with huge pockets to get it where it needs to go. It has that now.

I have no idea what Jamie will do with it, stylistically, as the winemaker. My guess is we are seeing the second coming of the Mayacamas renovation… try to keep the old style but clean it up, maybe pick one brix higher, add a tasting room in town so people don’t have to climb a mountain, and significant capital expenditures. Keep the old buyers who like the old style while adding new ones. Frankly, this strategy is the hardest needle to thread in high-end wine.

I probably sell more $150+ wine in Arkansas than any winery in Napa (after Kapcsandy) and know so many people there I am surprised that I’ve never met Gaylon Lawrence Jr. My advice would be to build a new winery, add a tasting room in downtown St Helena or Yountville, replant every vine that needs it over the next 10 years, eat the losses for a decade and don’t cut corners. Prices will simply have to rise but make sure it is only commensurate with quality increase. Eventually create several “reserve” bottlings of 50-100 case sizes for club members (I know people roll their eyes at this but they will have no choice but to eventually do this due to the low prices of their wines overall.) And please God do not stop making the Riesling and Gewurztraminer!

Roy, this is an excellent observation. Its only flaw is that it assumes you want to actually make money at some point. A number of wineries are run as lifestyle projects and not to turn a profit. Don’t get me wrong - that’s not a judgment on my part, just an observation. But you’re right that, even to get it to a place where it’s modestly competitive will take a small fortune of capital.

Best way to make a small fortune in wine is to start with a large one. Some would say it’s the only way.

[Matt_Mauldin]

I’ve been to Stony Hill and it needs significant replants and frankly, a new winery and needs to enter the 21st century.

Odd timing, but I was able to visit both Mayacamas in 2013 & Stony Hill in 2018 in the months prior to their sales. Both wineries were so antiquated it’s a wonder they were still able to make wine.

In the case of Stony Hill, we were told the wines had to be filtered due to the age and condition of the cellar. The antique cellar is a romantic notion, but as good as the wines are there’s definitely an opportunity to improve (hopefully without changing the style).

I just wonder what the market ceiling is for Spring Mountain Chardonnay. I’m sure they could take price increases there, but their growth opportunity pricewise in my opinion would be with Cab Sauv.

[Jeff_A]

I visited Heitz over the summer for the first time in a few years and was shocked by how much they’d raised prices on everything. Trailside is now something like $125/bottle. Also, they’d obviously gotten rid of the free tasting in lieu of a $75 tasting of 4 wines.

I hope they wave that if you buy.

Nope. Not even waived if you’re buying current release Martha’s at $250/per.

This is simply not true. Yes, their tasting is $75, but you get to try the current vintages of Martha’s, Trailside, Napa and Linda Falls, which they do not distribute. Considering the prices of these wines, $75 is below market value for a Napa tasting of wines of similar values. Additionally, they most certainly do waive your tasting fee if you purchase 3 bottles. I was there last month and we did a 3 year Martha’s vertical tasting for free.

[C_Wagner]

I hope they wave that if you buy.

Nope. Not even waived if you’re buying current release Martha’s at $250/per.

This is simply not true. Yes, their tasting is $75, but you get to try the current vintages of Martha’s, Trailside, Napa and Linda Falls, which they do not distribute. Considering the prices of these wines, $75 is below market value for a Napa tasting of wines of similar values. Additionally, they most certainly do waive your tasting fee if you purchase 3 bottles. I was there last month and we did a 3 year Martha’s vertical tasting for free.

Perhaps it’s changed again, but when I was there at the beginning of August payment was taken in advance (when reservation was made) and no mention was ever made that the fee would be waived with purchase of any amount. This is why I purchased a single bottle of Martha’s at $250 and went on my way after the tasting. In hindsight I regret even buying the one bottle as the wine is available elsewhere for significantly less, which I guess I really did already know.

That all aside, I think you’re missing the point.

Prior to the sale of Heitz, tastings were always complimentary. Yes, I know that was a bit of a novelty at the end but it was the reality. Also, the wines were considerably less expensive. I picked up a 2006 Trailside from the tasting room in 2017 for $70. Current release Trailside has been raised to $125/bottle. Library bottles of similar vintage age (2003) Trailside are now nearly $300/bottle. That’s a pretty steep and immediate escalation in pricing.

You may say that this is all in line with the rest of Napa and you’re not necessarily wrong. Point is, raising bottle prices quite quickly, going from no tasting fee to a pretty steep-ish one ($75), and trying to make certain wines “exclusive” points to a very specific strategy on the part of the new owners/CEO/estate director. This is obviously a long term strategy, one which I’m assuming they’re hoping will allow them to fully capitalize on the money they perceive was being previously left on the table. I’m also assuming that they’ve accepted that this strategy will alienate or turn off a number of folks in the shorter term. It will be interesting to see how this works for them in the long run.

[loren.grossman]

Jaimee has had a hand in just about every vintage of Wilde Farm. I could not respect her winemaking philosophy, her approach to viticulture and her palate any more. And she is a wonderfully nice person to boot. Assuming that she was hired for her talent and what she does well, I can only expect the wines to be honest, transparent iterations of the best that the vineyard has to offer. Given what she has to work with at Stony Hill, I have to agree with Jon that only great things await. Fwiw.

[BenjaminL]

Long Meadow Ranch owns Farmstead. Given the huge drop in tourism in Napa in 2020 combined with trying to turn around Stony Hill, combined with a possible total loss of 2020 on Spring Mtn… something had to give. And the owners did what they needed to do, probably at a loss, after buying it just a couple years ago.

I probably sell more $150+ wine in Arkansas than any winery in Napa (after Kapcsandy) and know so many people there I am surprised that I’ve never met Gaylon Lawrence Jr. My advice would be to build a new winery, add a tasting room in downtown St Helena or Yountville, replant every vine that needs it over the next 10 years, eat the losses for a decade and don’t cut corners. Prices will simply have to rise but make sure it is only commensurate with quality increase. Eventually create several “reserve” bottlings of 50-100 case sizes for club members (I know people roll their eyes at this but they will have no choice but to eventually do this due to the low prices of their wines overall.) And please God do not stop making the Riesling and Gewurztraminer!

Greetings Roy! Nice to meet a fellow Napa winemaker on the tread.

My 2 cents:
A sale like this doesn’t get done in a couple monthes- particularly after a wildfire. This was in the making for one reason or another, but not due to the fires. I heard that Ted Hall was instrumental in preparing Stony Hill from fires in 2017, and I know firsthand that Chris Hall was up on it in 2020 fighting the blaze as it ran around the property. If I was in better shape maybe I’d join the Rutherford Volunteer Fire Department myself.

And, not to bolster your suggestion you know everyone in the Arkansas wine scene, BUT:
From my understanding from John Conover (Plumbjack), it was Gaylon’s daughter who came out to Napa and fell in love with the place, landing in the tasting room at Heitz. The rest, as they say, is history!

[Howard_Cooper]

I know none of the people involved nor the actual reason, but I can guess. And I have an opinion about what they should do, too.

Long Meadow Ranch owns Farmstead. Given the huge drop in tourism in Napa in 2020 combined with trying to turn around Stony Hill, combined with a possible total loss of 2020 on Spring Mtn… something had to give. And the owners did what they needed to do, probably at a loss, after buying it just a couple years ago.

I’ve been to Stony Hill and it needs significant replants and frankly, a new winery and needs to enter the 21st century. It needs many millions. LMR never should have bought it in the first place in my opinion and it always needed someone with huge pockets to get it where it needs to go. It has that now.

I have no idea what Jamie will do with it, stylistically, as the winemaker. My guess is we are seeing the second coming of the Mayacamas renovation… try to keep the old style but clean it up, maybe pick one brix higher, add a tasting room in town so people don’t have to climb a mountain, and significant capital expenditures. Keep the old buyers who like the old style while adding new ones. Frankly, this strategy is the hardest needle to thread in high-end wine.

I probably sell more $150+ wine in Arkansas than any winery in Napa (after Kapcsandy) and know so many people there I am surprised that I’ve never met Gaylon Lawrence Jr. My advice would be to build a new winery, add a tasting room in downtown St Helena or Yountville, replant every vine that needs it over the next 10 years, eat the losses for a decade and don’t cut corners. Prices will simply have to rise but make sure it is only commensurate with quality increase. Eventually create several “reserve” bottlings of 50-100 case sizes for club members (I know people roll their eyes at this but they will have no choice but to eventually do this due to the low prices of their wines overall.) And please God do not stop making the Riesling and Gewurztraminer!

It would be very sad if they replace tastings at the winery with a tasting room in a city. The view from Stony Hill is about the prettiest view from any winery I have visited.

[Karl_K]

It is amazing, no doubt.

Good view of Howell Mountain from the home site.

[Josh_Q]

It looks like Stony Hill has reopened to tastings, but the wine club member model may have switched to an allocation / mailing list model. Anyone have any details?

[CarltonMcCoy]

Hello Josh,
We evolved to the current model as we are blessed by so many winelovers appreciation for classical Napa wines. While some of the allocations are small, we always ensure that everyone that supports the winery gets a good selection of what we produce! Hope to see you in Napa!