Foley Family Wines buys Chalk Hill vineyard plus adds to its Oregon portfolio

Foley Family Wines of Santa Rosa has acquired two more vineyards, including the Chalk Ridge Vineyard in Sonoma County, to add to its growing portfolio in the premium wine market.

The company, owned by billionaire businessman Bill Foley, has bought a 64-acre vineyard in the Chalk Hill wine region that is planted with grapes for chardonnay, merlot, and syrah ines. The plot is located at the corner of Chalk Hill and Pleasant Road. A purchase price was not disclosed.

The fruit from the vineyard previously has gone to Kendall Jackson, Sonoma Cutrer, Dariush and Duckhorn wineries. Foley intends to use the fruit next year for its nearby Chalk Hill Estate Vineyards and its Roth Estate Winery in Healdsburg.

In addition, the Foley company also acquired for an undisclosed price the 21-acre Huntington Hill Vineyard in the newly formed Van Duzer Corridor wine region in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. The vineyard is primarily planted with grapes for pinot noir but also contains grapes for pinot gris, pinot blanc and chardonnay. Foley officials think an additional 85 acres could be planted for fruit that would go into its Four Graces wine brand, located in Oregon, that has been growing in the marketplace.

“The purchase of these two premier vineyards reaffirms the Foley family’s commitment to the luxury wine segment and provides the FFW organization the opportunity to fuel growth for both The Four Graces and Chalk Hill brands,” Gerard Thoukis, chief marketing officer for Foley Family Wines, said in a statement.

This summer the wine company has undergone a top leadership change when Hugh Reimers abruptly left his president’s post in July at the behest of Bill Foley. Shawn Schiffer, who had been senior vice president of global sales at WX Brands in Novato, replaced Reimers as president of the company.

You can reach Staff Writer Bill Swindell at 521-5223 or bill.swindell@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @BillSwindell.