Australian company sells Geyser Peak wine brand

Accolade Wines sells ?Geyser Peak wine brand

Australian-based Accolade Wines said it will sell its U.S. brands such as Geyser Peak, Atlas Peak, XYZin and Outlot to 2 Bears LLC in a deal expected to close before July.

The transaction does not include the sale or transfer of the Geyser Peak winery and tasting room in Healdsburg off Westside Road, which still remains leased to Accolade Wines.

The company closed the tasting room last year as it sought a buyer for its U.S. brands. The Geyser Peak winery has had multiple owners over the years, including the storied late businessman Henry Trione of Santa Rosa, who bought it from Stroh Brewing Co. in 1982 and helped boost its sales.

Accolade said in a March 24 statement the transaction would not affect the company’s Canadian business or the import and distribution of its brands into United States.

The Carlyle Group, a global private equity investor group based in Washington, D.C., bought Accolade Wines in 2018 for $770 million and has since been making structural changes to the company.

SSU takes wine business certification online

The Wine Business Institute at Sonoma State University is offering an online certificate in wine business management this spring from April 15 to May 14.

The professional certificate program will cover wine marketing and sales; direct-to-consumer sales; finance and regulatory matters.

The course is designed for those entering the sector and current professionals, including winemakers and viticulturists.

For more details and an application for enrollment visit: http://sbe.sonoma.edu/wine-business-management.

Seghesio celebrates 125th anniversary with a mural

Seghesio Family Vineyards, the Healdsburg winery that helped popularize zinfandel from Sonoma County, is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year by holding a contest for a commemorative mural to be painted on a prominent exterior wall of its tasting room.

The winery, now owned by Napa-based Crimson Wine Group, is soliciting designs that reflect the history of the business as holders of some of the oldest vineyards in North America.

“We are proud to have achieved a milestone not often reached in the wine industry and we are thrilled to create something that will honor this moment for years to come,” Stephanie Wycoff, estate director of Seghesio Family Vineyards, said in a statement.

Compiled by Bill Swindell. ?Submit items to bill.swindell@?pressdemocrat.com.