Beringer Sells Napa Ridge Label

Napa Ridge, the highly regarded mid-priced label of Beringer Wine Estates, has been sold to Bronco Wine Co. for about $40 million, according to wire reports. Napa Ridge made quite a splash a couple of years ago its wines placed quite high in several tastings--despite prices of less than $10.

Beringer says it is selling the brand to focus on its other labels: Meridian Vineyards and St. Clement Vineyards as well as the Beringer Founders’ Estate. It says Napa Ridge sales accounted for less than 5% of the company’s more than $375 million in total sales last year.

New Year’s Ball Drops on Tavern

Fraunces Tavern, famous as the meeting place of the Sons of Liberty before the Revolution and the place where George Washington bade farewell to his troops in 1783, closed its doors Thursday. The New York tavern was one of the oldest continuously operated restaurants in the country, dating from the 1760s.

It closed because of a disagreement about the terms of the lease between the operators and the property’s owners. The owners, the patriotic organization the Sons of the Revolution, announced that it is looking for new operators and expects to reopen in a few months.