NEWS: California's Oldest Family-Run Winery Files Bankruptcy

Jeff, Katie, and Jim Bundschu
Sixth and fifth generation owners

  Today Gundlach-Bundschu Winery in Sonoma filed chapter 11 bankruptcy. They said the company became overleveraged in a recent acquisition. G-B bought the old Valley of the Moon Winery in 2020, opened it as Abbot's Passage, and closed that winery a few months ago.

  Gundlach-Bundschu was founded in 1858 by Jacob Gundlach when he purchased 400 acres in Sonoma Valley. It is currently run by Jeff Bundschu, along with his sister Katie.

  G-B says they are negociating with an investor who would take majority control. It appears the oldest family-run winery in the state is no more.

  In other news, Jean-Charles Boisset, owner of several Napa and Sonoma wineries, has purchased Artesa Winery in the Carneros region of Napa. Boisset, also known as Mr. Gina Gallo, owns Buena Vista, Deloach, and Raymond Wineries, among others. Just kidding about the Mr. Gallo part, kinda.
The news on Artesa just came out on Wine Spectator.

State of the Wine Industry in a Few Graphs

These graphs are from Azur Associates, a Napa-based winery consulting firm.

Bringing In New Wine Drinkers

How do you go about getting new, usually younger, people to join the wine world? The conventional way is to hit them up with viticulture, winemaking, terroir, wine scores, and scores of wine terms. Great, intimidation to bring in new customers. There's a better way.

Cool Idea to Bring in People

It's no secret that winery traffic is down. The wineries with tasting rooms usually depend heavily on these direct-to-consumer sales.

Napa Valley Post-Cabernet

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Don't Cry For Napa

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BMO 2026 Wine Market Report

BMO bank's commercial sector keeps an eye on the state of the booze business. Some highlights from this year's wine report.

News on 2025's Napa Pickett Fire

The August 2025 Pickett Fire started in a remote area of rugged terrain outside of Calistoga in Napa Valley. There had been a party on the Hundred Acre Winery property. The fire took two weeks to contain. Homes were lost, wineries and vineyards were damaged, people, including firefighters were injured.

American Gewurztraminer, It's Hard to Find

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West Coast Riesling: It's Pretty Good, Does Anyone Care?

There are Chardonnay lovers, Sauvignon Blanc people, and Pinot Grigio drinkers galore, but Riesling gets no love. There seems to be no respect for premium Riesling from the West Coast.

Napa's Oldest Continuously Operating Winery

Charles Krug is the oldest commercial winery in Napa, opening in 1861. Beringer Vineyards, est. 1876, is the oldest continuously operating winery. It's Beringer's 150th anniversary.

The oldest commercial wineries in Sonoma County are in the town of Sonoma. Buena Vista opened in 1857, and Gundlach Bundschu in 1858. Buena Vista is the oldest commercial winery in the state, but it has not been continuous. Wente Vineyards, founded 1883 in Livermore, is the longest continuously operating family winery.

Gnarly Old Vines (pictures)

Following are a few photos of beautiful old vines, mostly zinfandel, that I've taken over the past few years. I'll identify where the vines are as best I can. Mostly wintertime pictures because you can see the vine structure better.