Learn how a former attorney returned to her family’s vineyard to carry it into the future through innovative expansion.
A second-generation vintner was determined to grow her family’s vineyard operation with new direct-to-consumer experiences and rebuilding efforts.
The Challenge
A family-owned and operated Napa Valley vineyard was founded in the early eighties and expanded into the winery business in the late nineties. After years spent as an attorney, the founder’s daughter decided to return to the family vineyard and lead its expansion efforts. She grew up working alongside her father who taught her everything about the business, instilling a deep passion in her for producing exceptional wines. Her most recent expansion efforts have been adding a direct-to-consumer retail business with a wine tasting experience and lodging rentals. This segment of the business was greatly impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic, creating a need for capital. Moreover, after facing devastating wildfires in 2017 and 2020 that damaged their vines, she needed to refinance and acquire working capital to fund their replanting efforts.
The Solution
The family was referred to AgAmerica to craft a custom refinance package when their current lenders couldn’t. The borrowers had two parcels, each financed by a different lender, that they wanted to combine in order to qualify for a winery permit. However, neither lender had the capacity to refinance the other. As a non-traditional lender with greater flexibility, AgAmerica worked closely with the family to develop a comprehensive and customized long-term plan to support their goals for their operation. Through this process, the family was able to secure an $8.5MM refinance package that included a cash out portion to support replanting and direct-to-consumer expansion efforts.
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