The buyer is Vite USA, which purchased the winery and its 23-acre estate vineyard.
The good news: “The sale will allow us to pay off claims in full,” according to Ron Oliner, an attorney with Duane Morris LLP’s San Francisco office. The claims totaled somewhere between $17 million and $20 million.
Jeff Cole remains the winemaker.
The money for the purchase came from Mexico, according to Juan Pablo Torres-Padilla, CEO of Vite USA Inc.
The winery was founded by the late Jim Sullivan and his wife JoAnna in the early 1970s. One of their sons, Ross Sullivan, has been president of Sullivan Vineyards & Winery, and will remain at the winery as a long-term strategic advisor after the sale.
“We couldn’t be happier with Vite USA as the buyer of Sullivan Estate and are confident that our legacy is in good hands,” he said in a statement. “My parents settled here in 1972 to farm Cabernet Sauvignon and were early visionaries in bringing together chefs, artists, and musicians from all over the world to create a top destination. The vision and passion of Juan Pablo and his group embraces what my family built and we are confident they will achieve great success going forward.