The San Francisco Chronicle made a bold prediction early last month: “This will be the year of California winery closures.” Here in Healdsburg, from where I’m sitting, the 2025 wine-industry shakeup has looked more like a Great Reshuffling — aka, wine bosses selling off certain properties or reshaping their business models to weather industry hardship. Or, in the case of Healdsburg’s nearly 150-year-old Simi Winery and its giant parent company Constellation Brands, getting rid of lower-performing wine brands (or at least ones that don’t align with the company’s current focus) like they’re hot potatoes. The North Bay Business Journal reports:
Simi Winery’s 149-year history, mostly in Healdsburg, appears headed for another ownership change under a deal revealed Wednesday that would sell it and several other brands as part of a continued refocusing of Constellation Brands Inc. on beer and higher-end wine and spirits.
The New York-based company said it signed an agreement with East Bay-based The Wine Group to purchase six brands plus related wineries and vineyards …
The purchase price wasn’t disclosed. Yet Constellation expects about $900 million in proceeds from the sale this fiscal year, which started March 1, according to the company’s investor presentation released Wednesday. If the deal goes through, it’s expected to close after the end of the fiscal first quarter on May 31.
The Wine Group might be based nearer to us than Constellation, but it’s even more of a monolith — reportedly pumping out around 40 million bottles of wine each year, many with budget labels like Cupcake and Franzia. (Ever heard of ’em?) The Chronicle has more on this tentative upcoming deal between wine giants:
The country’s second-largest wine company announced a plan to acquire several major California wineries on Wednesday, in a shake-up that stands to rewrite the power dynamics of the state’s struggling $55 billion wine industry.
The Wine Group, headquartered in Livermore, has agreed to purchase some of America’s most popular brands including Woodbridge, Simi, Meiomi, Cook’s, J. Roget and Robert Mondavi Private Selection from Constellation Brands, the companies announced. The transaction, whose price was not disclosed and includes “associated inventory, wineries, vineyards, offices and facilities,” will need to undergo regulatory approval and is expected to close at the end of the first fiscal quarter of 2026. …
The news is the latest alarm signaling a wine industry in serious trouble: It comes eight months after the major conglomerate Vintage Wine Estates filed for bankruptcy and follows a slew of winery closures amid a global decline in sales. Constellation’s divestiture of some of the most recognizable wine brands in the country suggests that even wine’s largest corporations are wary of the future.
Let’s be honest — Simi’s community presence has been waning for a few years now. As I wrote in this very newsletter circa 2022, back when I was writing it for Patch, Simi’s owners chose to “cease hospitality operations” at their location near the north end of Healdsburg Avenue in early 2023 — aka, shut down their tasting room and wine club, and instead focus on retail sales. A spokesman for Constellation Brands told me at the time: “We will retain ownership of the property in Healdsburg, and winemaking, viticulture and production operations will continue onsite. Our people remain our top priority, and we intend to retain any impacted employees within our business if they so choose.” I’ll keep you posted on whether all that remains true during this next transition.
Note from Simone: This piece originally appeared in the weekly email newsletter I write for the Healdsburg Tribune, called Healdsburg Today. Subscribe here!
