Diageo has completed the sale of its remaining wine brand in the U.S with the sale of Chalone Estate Vineyard in California to the Foley Family Wines. The terms of the sale was not disclosed.
Diageo has been disposing of its wine brands since last year when the company’s CEO, Ivan Menezes stated that “wine was no longer core” to the company’s strategy.
Diageo originally bought the Chalone Winery for $260 million in 2004 and grew the business from 30,000 cases a year to 200,000 just in a matter of years. However, in 2014, volume fell back to 166,000 cases, down 15%.
With the sale of Chalone, it means that the company is completely out of the wine segment in the U.S.
Foley Family Wines, Chalone’s new owners was established by Bill Foley in 1996. The company owns an array of estates in California wine country, including Foley Estates, Lincourt Vineyards, Merus, Foley Johnson, Kuleto and Langtry Estate.
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