A legacy Napa Valley winery has sold. Here's the buyer
Founder Bill Harrison has sold his William Harrison Vineyards & Winery to members of two other long-standing Napa winemaking families: the Clarks, of Amizetta Estate Winery in the Lake Hennessey area, and the Longs, of David Arthur Vineyards on Pritchard Hill. The deal includes William Harrison's nearly 9-acre property on the Silverado Trail in the Rutherford district. A purchase price was not disclosed.
The winery will be renamed William Perry, after two of the new owners, William Edward Clark and Perry Clark. They will be the operating partners, along with Laura Long (with help from their respective spouses Jenny Wagner Clark, Christine Clark and Teddy Bystrowski). After completing some light renovations, the team expects to reopen for tastings in the fall.
Right now, Rutherford 'is absolutely the most coveted area in Napa Valley,' said Compass real estate agent Mary Carpenter, who represented the buyers along with Nick Muccitelli of Vanguard. It's known for its marine sedimentary soils, often called 'Rutherford dust,' that can result in powerful red wines.
'A property like this doesn't happen that often in Rutherford,' Muccitelli said.
In a period of more expansive growth for the wine industry, it might have been snatched up by a moneyed corporation rather than independent families. 'This just shows that even in a state of flux, the winery and vineyard real estate market is full of opportunity,' Muccitelli said.
The Clark brothers had been 'having conversations on and off with Bill (Harrison) for eight years,' said Perry Clark, who is also Amizetta's president. He and his brother, who goes by Eddy, had been looking for a 'valley floor project' and hoped to find something in Rutherford, which Amizetta overlooks from its 1,000-foot-perch at the base of Howell Mountain. After visiting Harrison for a tasting eight years ago, Perry Clark told him, 'If you're ever thinking of selling this place, we'd love to talk.' Harrison said he wasn't interested, but that changed in the last couple of years.
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Harrison's family history with wine dates to 16th century Italy. After immigrating to North America, his ancestors established a vineyard in Mexico and later in the Central Valley. In the early '80s, Harrison started one of California's first mobile bottling lines, which allowed wineries that didn't have extensive infrastructure to bottle efficiently.
He bought his Rutherford property in 1986 and built a winery whose façade resembles an old Western saloon. Initially the facility produced wines for Harrison's uncle's Perelli-Minetti Winery, and he made the first vintage of William Harrison wines in 1993. Though the brand has never become one of Napa Valley's best-known names, it has earned a reputation for being well made and age-worthy, thanks in part to longtime consulting winemaker Philip Corallo-Titus, also of Chappellet Winery.
'There's not a whole lot of the old Napa Valley left, and that's what Bill is,' Perry Clark said.
By the time Harrison was ready to sell, Perry and Eddy Clark needed some extra capital. So they enlisted their longtime friend Long, whose father founded David Arthur Vineyards in 1980 (he made his first vintage at Amizetta's winery). Although they are the primary investors, the rest of the Clark family are also shareholders in the new venture.
They plan to bring some 'modern finishes' to the winery, but will keep the bones of the facility intact, with its 35-foot ceilings and old-growth cedar trussing. The building was made from stone quarried across the street on the Silverado Trail, according to Perry Clark.
For the Amizetta and David Arthur sites, both nestled high in the hills, 'the remoteness is the pro, but there's also limitations on access and how much you can produce,' Perry Clark said. 'We wanted the opportunity to have something that's down in the valley, that's more accessible and visible.'
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