Viticulture briefs: Napa Winery buys Carneros vineyard

Napa winery buys Carneros vineyard

John Anthony Family of Wines has acquired Church Vineyard, which it had been leasing in the Carneros wine region. Financial terms were not released.

The 10-acre parcel features 4 acres that are planted with sauvignon blanc vines. It also has a historic church built in 1886 in Pennsylvania and later reconstructed in 2003 by original owners Jerri McNair and Bob Frane.

“Church Vineyard is a unique property, both for the historic beauty of the church surrounded by vines, but also the terroir and micro-climate in Carneros, which produces exquisite, high-quality Sauvignon Blanc,” said John Anthony Truchard, founder and CEO of John Anthony Family of Wines, in a statement.

“The wine we make from this vineyard has consistently received some of the top scores for sauvignon blancs since its first vintage of 2005.”

Church Vineyard is the first vineyard owned by the winery.

Geyser Peak picks new winemaker

Geyser Peak winery of Healdsburg has appointed Randy Meyer as its new winemaker.

Meyer had previously served as winemaker at Draxton Wine Co. in Healdsburg and spent 23 years at Korbel Champagne Cellars. A Sonoma County native, he studied fermentation science at UC Davis and then had internships at both Piper Sonoma and Far Niente wineries.

In a statement, Meyer said he is most looking forward to making sauvignon blanc at the winery in addition to cabernet sauvignon from grapes sourced in the Alexander Valley.

The winery is owned by Accolade Wines, an Australian company that is the world’s fifth-largest wine company by volume.

It is now located in Dry Creek Valley, not far from its original Geyserville site.

Duckhorn to be honored at Fort Bragg’s Winesong

Dan Duckhorn, founder and board member of Duckhorn Wine Co. in St. Helena, will be honored at the Winesong event in Fort Bragg this summer.

In 1976, Duckhorn and his then wife, Margaret, and a few friends founded Duckhorn Vineyards.

The winery became known for its world-class merlots and expanded its other labels such as Paraduxx, Goldeneye, Migration and Decoy. GI Partners of San Francisco bought the winery in 2007.

Winesong, produced by the Mendocino Coast Hospital Foundation, offers visitors a chance to experience Mendocino County wine, food, art and music. It will be held Sept. 7-8.

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