Winebits 756: Chateau Ste. Michelle, Villa Maria, AVAs

wine poured into two glassesThis week’s wine news: New owners will close Chateau Ste. Michelle’s flagship facility, plus more legal troubles for New Zealand’s Villa Maria and the federal government’s terrific AVA website

Not good news: When a private equity company bought Washington state’s Chateau Ste Michelle last year, most in the wine business yawned. One employee even told me it would be good for the winery, one of the biggest in the U.S. So much for that. The equity group, Sycamore Partners, announced last week it was closing the company’s flagship winery in Woodinville. Wash., and would try to sell it. No word on how many jobs would be lost. Sean Sullivan of the Washington Wine Report broke the story; Blake Gray at Wine-Searcher has a spot-on analysis. Private equity firms buy companies to sell their assets so they can make money, and wineries are no exception. They do not buy wineries to dabble in the romance of wine, no matter what those in wine might think.

Legal woes: Villa Maria, long one of New Zealand’s most respected wineries, has been shrouded in legal problems for a couple of years. It may have been in bankruptcy a year ago in May; it was certainly sold almost a year ago. But most news reports of the winery’s financial difficulties have been worse than vague. The latest news is also not good. The former owner is embroiled in a lawsuit with the new owners, which seems to revolve around how much money will be left after winery pays its debts but also seems to include charges of fraud.

Where is that AVA? AVAs, or American Viticultural Areas, are legally designated areas where grapes are grown in the U.S. — 266 in all. So there are some in Napa and Sonoma, but also in Texas, New York, Ohio, and Missouri. Finally, there is a tool better than searching for a Wikipedia listing: An interactive map from the federal agency that regulates AVAs. It’s really quite impressive.