A Sour Taste

Despite reports that a wave of foreclosures may hit Napa Valley’s wineries and vineyards, there are signs that rumors of Napa’s illness have been exaggerated.

“We have not received calls from folks desperate to sell their wineries,” said Eileen Fredrikson, of Woodside’s Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates wine industry consulting firm, referring to recent media reports that a number of Napa foreclosures may be in the offing. “As with any industry, there is no one-size-fits-all story.”

That’s not to say there won’t be any foreclosures or forced sales, but that the big picture appears to be improving, at least incrementally.

In fact, foreclosure fears may have hit just as things are starting to look up for the hard-pressed high-end wine business. The San Francisco-based Wine Institute, which represents 1,000 or so California wineries, reported last week that fourth-quarter wine exports were up nearly 16 percent compared with a year earlier, possibly a sign the worst is over. Overall, U.S. wine exports dropped 9.5 percent last year.

But the year-end 2009 rebound gives California vintners, many of them in the greater Bay Area, “reason to believe that 2010 will be a good year,” said Wine Institute CEO Bobby Koch — or at least a stronger one than last year, which saw many wines that retail for more than $20 take a beating.

“We see early signs that the winery M&A market will begin a slow and gradual recovery this year, driven by a gradually improving wine market and a recovery of the capital markets,” said Vic Motto, chairman and CEO of Global Wine Partners, a St. Helena-based wine investment bank.