Sebastiani Changes Part of Foley Reorganization

People who lost jobs at Sebastiani Vineyards and Winery are part of an overall reorganization of Foley Wine Group and should result in an “overall increase in job placement opportunities” in Sonoma, according to Tim Matz of Foley Family Wines — the new name for Foley Wine Group.

“SMALL NUMBER OF LAYOFFS” ARE “NATURAL” PART OF RESTRUCTURING

“It’s natural to do some restructuring after a major acquisition,” Matz told Wine Industry Insight yesterday. He said that layoff’s at Sebastiani were “fewer than five,” and needed to be balanced against an increased Foley presence at the Sebastiani facility.

“We’re centralizing finance, administration, marketing, customer service and purchasing in Sonoma,” he said. That process will involve moving positions from the Central Coast to Sebastiani.

He did not specify how many positions would be affected.

TRANSACTION IS “SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETE”

Foley’s acquisition of Sebastiani Vineyards and Winery — announced to winery staff at a company Christmas party on Dec. 19, 2008 — is “substantially complete” said Matz. Only “minor details” remained, he said.

Sources knowledgeable about details of the acquisition confirmed the state of the  process and noted that, because of the extensive real estate portfolio involved, along with the associated financing, it would take a while to finalize the transfer of deeds, rights and other documents involved.

MATZ APPOINTED PRESIDENT TO OVERSEE GROWING PORTFOLIO

Matz was hired as President of Foley Family Wines in December 2008. He is a 26-year wine industry veteran, having spent four years as President of Jackson Wine Estates International, where he was responsible for  international business. He has also served as Vice President and General Manager for Beringer Blass Wine Estates (imports and Canada) from 2002 to 2004 and was President (Americas) of Southcorp Wines prior to its acquisition by Beringer Blass. Earlier in his career, Matz worked for Brown-Forman.