Franciscan Acquires 50% of Chilean Winery, Completes Import Deal

Franciscan Vineyards has acquired a 50% interest in a Chilean winery and all of Mt. Veeder Winery, an 86-acre property founded in 1972 that produces Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.

Agostin Huneeus, president of Franciscan and a former (pre-Pinochet) winery executive in Chile, said the Chilean deal completes a joint venture with Errazuriz Panquehue, a 150-year-old wine estate at the foot of the Aconcagua Mountain.

In that deal, Franciscan and Errazuriz Panquehue agreed to make wine for the U.S. market. That wine is being imported by Franciscan. Called Caliterra, the wines are arriving on store shelves. All are low-priced and excellent values.

The best of the three wines is the 1986 Caliterra Cabernet Sauvignon ($6), which has excellent fruit reminiscent of tea and cherries and attractive oak nuances. It is soft and perfectly suited for restaurants.

On the Oaky Side

Another superb value is the 1988 Caliterra Chardonnay ($6). This is the best Chardonnay of its price I have tasted in the last few years. The wine is a bit on the oaky side, but it’s impeccably made, with broad, pineappley flavors. Though it is soft and rich, it has a dry finish. (With discounts, it may be seen at less than $5.)

The 1988 Sauvignon Blanc ($5) is a nice wine, but not particularly varietal or distinctive. It’s slightly heavier than I prefer. Still, it’s a good value.

The wines were made under the direction of Greg Upton, Franciscan’s wine maker, who spent the 1988 and 1989 harvests in Chile. He worked with Eduardo Chadwick, a direct descendant of the founder, Don Maximiano Errazuriz.

Instead of using older oak barrels in which to age the wine, as is tradition in Chile, Franciscan shipped to Chile barrels made of American oak for the red wines and new French oak for the whites. (The Chardonnay shows this influence most.)

$2-Million Deal

As for the Mt. Veeder deal, industry sources said it was worth about $2 million.

Huneeus said the Mt. Veeder property is located in a unique growing region that seems particularly well-suited for red wine grapes.

He said the winery, which has 24 acres of vineyard, will be used mainly to produce Meritage wines, premium red wines blended from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and other Bordeaux varieties.

Franciscan, also founded in 1972, is now owned by the Peter Eckes Co. of Germany.

R.H. Phillips Winery in Yolo County said it has received financing to double the number of acres of grapevines it has planted and to build a 21,000-square-foot winery.

Wine maker Clark Smith said three dozen small investors acquired a 50% share of the winery and vineyards for $3.1 million.

R.H. Phillips, which pioneered such innovative wines as Chateau St. Nicholas, Poolside Blush and a line of Night Harvest wines, had only 247 of its 1,685 acres planted with grapevines.

“(The investment) will allow us to plant 215 acres this year and 150 next year,” said Smith. This will permit the winery to grow from its present 200,000-case annual production to 300,000 cases by 1993 without the need to buy grapes from other growers.

“Last year, we bought Chardonnay, and we paid $1,950 a ton for stuff that was no better than we can grow ourselves for 400 bucks a ton,” said Smith.

Buena Vista Winery in Sonoma has reached agreement to market the wines of Clos Pegase in the Napa Valley and has acquired the Robert Stemmler brand for Pinot Noir.

The Stemmler deal is interesting in that Robert Stemmler agreed to change the name of his Sonoma County winery to Bel Canto and produce Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon only for sale at the tasting room in Dry Creek Valley.

His Pinot Noir, however, which has won numerous awards, will retain the Stemmler name. It will now be produced by Stemmler himself at Buena Vista’s wine making facility in the Carneros.

Clos Pegase was founded in 1986 by Jan Schrem. It produces Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. It created headlines when it staged a nationwide architectural contest and selected an unusual design that remains the talk of the Napa Valley.