The Grapes of Wrath : ‘A Bit of a Family Squabble’ Breaks Out at Weibel Vineyards in Fremont
Weibel Vineyards, based in Fremont, has lost its director of public relations and national sales manager in what the company called “a bit of a family squabble.” But the resignation of Linda Weibel Lannon and her husband, Terry Lannon, isn’t “Falcon Crest” in tone, said both parties.
Fred Jr. acknowledged that there had been “a bit of a family squabble between my dad and my sister,” and that Linda Lannon, head of public relations, and Terry Lannon, a vice president and national sales manager, had resigned.
Fred Jr. said the dispute “was of a personal nature; they didn’t see eye to eye.”
Terry Lannon, contacted at home, said, “We felt that trying to maintain the family structure was more important than problems at work. There are no burned bridges, no daggers in the back. It was a circumstance of: we just couldn’t work together.”
Neither party was specific about what led to the breakup.
Swap of Properties
Weibel also revealed that it has arranged to acquire more than 1,180 acres of prime vineyard land in Mendocino County in a complex swap of properties with a Fremont development company.
Fred Jr. said Weibel Vineyards Inc. has bought three ranches (in Talmage, Potter Valley and Hopland) that have more than 740 acres planted to vineyards, with the remainder rated as potential vineyard land. A significant portion of the acreage already has Chardonnay planted on it, which is in high demand.
That land will be transferred to Sagwa Development Corp., which will then swap it back to Fred Weibel Sr. in exchange for about 30 acres of the 90-acre Weibel site in Fremont (which the winery calls Mission San Jose). Sagwa intends to develop the Fremont acreage with more than 100 homes.
Terry Lannon, who joined Weibel in 1986, said he was pleased with the two years he spent with the company helping redefine the company’s image.
Weibel sales slumped in 1987 to about 530,000 cases from 615,000 cases the year before, and will rebound to more than 550,000 cases in 1988, Lannon said.
“But keep in mind that of that 550,000 cases, a lot of it was in Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon and dessert wines that we were never selling before, so there’s a higher net as well as a higher prestige value for the Weibel brand.”
Wineries that offer information about their wines or the condition of the vintage usually have an 800 telephone number and a recording at the other end of the line.
Flora Springs in the Napa Valley winery set up such a line to explain to callers what its Trilogy super-premium red wine is. The wine, which sells for $30 a bottle, is a blend of one-third each Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
However, when callers dial the number, (800) 332-3534, they get no recording but a real, live person.
“And some people were so surprised, they just hung up,” said a winery spokesman.
Ferrari-Carano Vineyards in Sonoma County has acquired a 950-acre ranch that spans Knight’s Valley and Alexander Valley. Dubbed La Montagna, the mountainous, dual-appellation land has never had vineyards. It is to be planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, said a winery spokeswoman.
Ferrari-Carano also acquired two additional parcels of vineyard land, about 40 acres already planted to Merlot from Sonoma Cutrer Vineyards, in the Dry Creek area of Sonoma County, and about 30 acres located in Alexander Valley, to be planted with Chardonnay.
Most wine maker dinners are structured with everyone in the room seated almost randomly at large tables with strangers, sipping wine at the same time and hearing the speaker give general answers about the wines.
Sostanza in West Los Angeles has a format that differs. Guests sit at small tables with their friends and the wine makers float around the room, answering specific questions about the wines asked by patrons.
It works fine, but one speaker told me, “I loved the concept, but while I was chatting with one group, I missed my pasta.”
Anthony Zurich & Co. of San Francisco said it has placed the wines of Caymus and Lambert Bridge on the wine list at the new, luxurious Palace Hotel in Beijing in the People’s Republic of China.
Chagrined was the word that best described Sam and Vicki Sebastiani at the check-in desk at the Wine Experience in San Francisco. But first a bit of background.
Sam had taken over operation of his family’s huge Sebastiani Vineyards after the death of his father, August, in 1980. Sam had a more flamboyant nature than his father, and in 1986, Sam and Vicki had a major falling out with Sam’s mother, Sylvia, who fired her son from the winery and put Don Sebastiani, Sam’s brother and a former state legislator, in charge.
Sam struck out on his own wine-making venture, producing wines first under the Sam J. Sebastiani label. However, that name was unsatisfactory for a number of reasons, and finally after agonizing over another name for their fledgling winery, Sam and Vicki came up with Viansa.
The first two letters in Viansa come from Vicki’s first name; the an comes from and, and the last two letters in Viansa come from Sam’s first name.
After all this notoriety, Sam surely would have thought his name well known. But when he checked in to pick up name tags at the Wine Experience, he discovered that they read, “Sam Viansa” and “Vicki Viansa.”
Good natured folks that they are, Sam and Vicki wore the badges as is throughout the three-day event.
