Starmont Carneros Winery Facility Sold to Private Investor – Brand to remain with Schlatter Family

News release

Starmont Brand and Stanly Ranch Estate Vineyard Remain Under Schlatter Ownership. No Change to Starmont National Sales & Marketing

 

(St. Helena, CA; July 12, 2019) The Schlatter Family, owners of the Merryvale Family of Wines, announces the sale of its winery facility in Carneros to a private investor.

 

The Starmont Brand and 40-acres of its Napa Green Certified Stanly Ranch Estate Vineyard will continue to thrive under the ownership of the Schlatter Family and under the direction of Winemaker Jeff Crawford. Winemaking operations for the single vineyard wines will move to Merryvale, whereas the regional bottlings will move to a facility close to the vineyards.

 

“It’s business as usual for the Starmont brand”, stated Proprietor René Schlatter. “Our team remains focused on growing the Starmont brand responsibly and sustainably. We are working with our sales and distribution partners to further the brand nationally and Jeff will continue to utilize the outstanding fruit from our Stanly Ranch Estate Vineyard as well as other high-quality vineyards throughout the Carneros region to promote our vision of quality and regional expression in the Starmont wines.”

 

Mark Giordano, President Pacific Highway Wines added, “We have bullish growth targets for Starmont FY20. This operational change has no effect on our sales, logistics, distribution and marketing programs across the US. It’s full steam ahead for Starmont.”

 

ABOUT MERRYVALE FAMILY OF WINES

Established in 1983, Merryvale Family of Wines is dedicated to making high quality wines from the Napa Valley. Helmed by the Schlatter family for more than 25 years, Merryvale Family of Wines has established deep roots in the Napa Valley with ownership of two estate vineyards; the Profile Estate, a 25-acre hillside vineyard overlooking St. Helena, and the 40-acre historic Stanly Ranch Estate vineyard in Carneros. Merryvale Vineyards became the flagship of the portfolio when Swiss businessman Jack Schlatter and his family became the sole owners of this historic property in 1996. A family owned and operated company, Merryvale Family of Wines is comprised of four distinct wine brands, each with their own winemaking team, vineyard sourcing, wine style and personality; Merryvale, Starmont, Profile Collection and Forward Kidd.

 

The History of Starmont and the Carneros Facility

For the past 30 years, Starmont has been recognized for thoughtfully crafted wines. Once an integral part of the Merryvale brand led by the Starmont Chardonnay and delivering high quality Carneros and Napa Valley wines at approachable prices, Starmont complements the more mature Merryvale portfolio. For over a decade and a half, these two brands shared space at the Merryvale St. Helena facility.

 

In 2005, the Schlatter Family acquired just under 50 acres of prime Carneros vineyard, a portion of the Stanly Ranch Estate first planted in 1872 and constructed a state-of-the-art “green” winery which opened for production in 2006. One of the first to be certified Napa Green, Starmont Winery has been an outstanding example of the attention on sustainability over the last 13 years, recycling winery process water, diverting waste from landfills and utilizing solar power. At the same time, having begun as a single Chardonnay wine in 1989, the Starmont Brand now encompasses the best of Carneros and Napa Valley with bottlings of Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc and Rosé wines, including Stanly Ranch Estate bottled wines and a selection of vineyard designated Pinot Noirs.