St. Francis Winery of Santa Rosa buys Russian River Valley vineyard

Known as River East, it is planted with chardonnay grapes and located near Eastside Road and Old Redwood Highway.|
BILL SWINDELL
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

St. Francis Winery & Vineyards of Santa Rosa has acquired an 80-acre vineyard in the northeast area of the Russian River Valley wine region.

The winery, owned by the Kopf family, bought the land from Silverado Investment Management Co. of Napa. The price was not disclosed.

The vineyard, known as River East, is planted with chardonnay grapes and located near Eastside Road and Old Redwood Highway. With the acquisition, ?St. Francis will have about ?500 vineyard estate acres in both the Russian River and Sonoma valleys, spokeswoman Kristin Coughtry said. The winery opened in 1979 and helped popularize merlot for American wine consumers.

“This acquisition will assist in further solidifying the platform for our future growth opportunities. We look forward to continuing to invest in Sonoma County,” St. Francis CEO Rick Bonitati said in a statement.

Bill Swindell

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