07-05-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Napa Valley wine giant to close tasting rooms and consolidate its brands
The Duckhorn Portfolio, one of Napa Valley's most prominent wine companies, is closing two Wine Country tasting rooms and consolidating its portfolio to focus on its four most successful labels.
The Migration tasting room in Napa and one of Sonoma County's most classic wineries, Sonoma-Cutrer, in Windsor will close in June, though the latter winery will continue sales through wholesale and a wine club.
The news, first reported by the Northwest Wine Report, comes roughly six months after Duckhorn sold to private equity firm Butterfly Equity in an all-cash deal that values the business at $1.95 billion.
The company announced Tuesday that it will concentrate investments on Duckhorn Vineyards, Kosta Browne, Decoy and Sonoma-Cutrer, along with Goldeneye, Calera, and Greenwing. These brands now account for 96% of Duckhorn's total sales.
'We see tremendous potential for our core four wineries,' CEO Robert Hanson said in the press release. 'As we continue to execute our strategic priorities, we consistently evaluate our portfolio to ensure it is well-positioned to expand and profitably scale.'
Duckhorn did not immediately respond to the Chronicle's request for comment Tuesday night.
Those core wineries operate in the $15-50 premium and luxury wine category, which has grown approximately 7% over the past 12 years, the company added. Over the last 24 months, the Duckhorn Portfolio has accounted for 37% of the growth in this segment and continues to expand its market share.
As part of the new direction, Duckhorn will reduce resources dedicated to underperforming brands like Canvasback, Migration, Paraduxx and Postmark. It said the brands together account for only 3.9% of Duckhorn's gross profit.
Duckhorn, whose flagship St. Helena winery is one of the best-known names in Napa Valley, has been through many ownership changes in recent years.
Founded in 1976 by Dan and Margaret Duckhorn, it became known for favoring Merlot, a grape variety that many of their counterparts in Napa Valley only used for a minor part of a Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend. The business steadily grew as the Duckhorns acquired hundreds of acres of vineyards and introduced a series of waterfowl-themed spinoff brands. In 2021, the company went public, but the Butterfly deal brought it back under private ownership.
Duckhorn is not the first major wine company to announce a shakeup in 2025 as the wine industry downturn worsens.
In April, Constellation Brands offloaded its low-tier wine brands to the Wine Group and Jackson Family Wines confirmed layoffs. Lawrence Wine Estates recently laid off its three-person Haynes Vineyard production staff and has consolidated much of its production. Several other Wine Country tasting rooms have closed this year, including Napa's Twomey.
The company said it will close tasting rooms 'that are not generating significant revenue or contributing to profitability.'
