Texas gave the world the TV show Dallas, which taught reality shows how families should fight. And let's not forget the Texas cheerleader murder plot or the Texas cadet murder case.
So why is the Wine Curmudgeon not surprised that last year's abortive sale of the bankrupt Cap*Rock winery to Laurent Gruet of New Mexico's acclaimed Gruet Winery appears headed down that path?
The Lubbock newspaper reported last week that other members of his family blocked Laurent's bid to buy the winery. As you'll recall, Laurent bought Cap*Rock for $6.5 million at auction on July 12. Then, some two weeks later, Gruet said he didn’t have the money and withdrew his bid.
The newspaper story hinted that there was a Dallas-esque fight for control of Gruet going on at the time between Laurent and several family members, and that the Cap*Rock deal was part of that fight (and, in fact, that fight may still be going on). The story also talks to plots, counter-plots and counter-counter-plots, including a board member who really wasn't a board member, gaggles of lawyers, falsified documents, and perhaps even attempted fraud. The bankruptcy trustee is trying to recover $4 million from some combination of the Gruets for the failed bid.
In fact, the only thing that seems to be missing from this story is a good right hand. Which I am happy to provide, courtesy of JRSueEllen on YouTube:
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