Yahoo Finance Prominent SLO County winery to be sold and its tasting room closed — but name will live on
E&J Gallo has announced it will sell the Edna Valley Vineyard and Winery property on the outskirts of San Luis Obispo.
As part of the sale, it will close the winery’s scenic tasting room at 2585 Biddle Ranch Road at the end of August, a representative confirmed.
“After much consideration, we have decided to list the Edna Valley property for sale,” E&J Gallo corporate communications and public relations senior manager Krista Fontana told The Tribune in a statement Wednesday. “As a result, we will be permanently closing the tasting room as of Saturday, Aug. 31.”
The winery’s name, however, will live on.
Fontana said the company plans to continue to make and sell wines under both the Edna Valley Vineyard and The Language of Yes brands. The latter is a pop-up, small-batch outfit that has operated out of the Edna Valley Vineyard tasting room since 2023.
Grapes from Gallo’s “variety of vineyard properties” will be used in the brands’ wines moving forward, Fontana added.
“Our wine production will not be affected, as our winemakers will continue to work with the grape crop that is sourced from the surrounding areas,” she said.
Both brands will be available for purchase in retail stores and in restaurants, Fontana said, while the Edna Valley Vineyard wines will also be available online at The Barrel Room.
Fontana said the company decided to sell the property as part of its assessment of its portfolio, when it “measures our operating efficiency.”
“At times, changes are necessary to ensure we are operating as effectively as possible,” she said.
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The announcement comes on the heels of two other hits to SLO County’s wine industry.
Vintage Wine Estates, owner of Laetitia Vineyard and Winery in Arroyo Grande, is filing for bankruptcy and announced mass layoffs, leaving Laetitia’s future in doubt.
And Derby Wine Estates in Paso Robles is looking to sell the iconic Farmers Alliance building — home to its wine processing facility and tasting room — as it downsizes its operations.
World’s largest winery has large footprint in SLO County
The announcement comes at the heels of the June death of Bob Gallo, the second-generation leader of the organization that has often been heralded as the world’s largest winery.
Its portfolio includes brands like Apothic, Barefoot, La Marca, Manischewitz, Prophecy, Proverb, Talbott Vineyards and more.
Headquartered in Modesto, E&J Gallo sources grapes from throughout California and the United States, as well as some other international locales.
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Over the years, it has bought up properties throughout the Central Coast, starting with the 2004 purchase of Bridlewood Estate Winery in Santa Barbara County and the 2007 purchase of William Hill Estate Winery in Napa.
It acquired its first San Luis Obispo County property in 2011 with the purchase of Edna Valley Vineyard.
Founded by “pioneering vineyard developer” Jack Niven in the 1980s, the Edna Valley Vineyard has specialized in the region’s signature Chardonnay wines for three decades, according to its website.
At the time of the purchase, E&J Gallo said it would “help us expand both our footprint in the Central Coast and in the Chardonnay category.”
“The brand represents wines from a superior appellation and is well positioned to offer consumers wines of extraordinary value long into the future,” the company said in a news release in June 2011.
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The company since has grown to have a large footprint in San Luis Obispo County, where it was the sixth largest property taxpayer in the 2022-23 fiscal year.
Beside Edna Valley Vineyard, it also owns Denner Vineyards in Paso Robles and Courtside Cellars in San Miguel.
Fontana said the company “continues to be fully committed to our presence in the Central Coast region with our winery production facilities, as well as our beautiful tasting room at Denner Vineyards in Paso Robles.”
