Topolos vineyard sold for $3M

Topolos Russian River Vineyards, including a winery, vineyards, tasting room and 160-seat restaurant, has been sold for $3 million, according to the firm that handled the sale.

Sonoma’s Blakeslee & Crain Vineyard Advisors and Brokers said Tuesday it arranged for the sale of the Topolos property to Baltimore real estate investor Chris O’Neill and local grape grower Art Ibleto. The sellers were longtime owners Jerry and Christine Topolos, said Michael Crain, one of the partners in Blakeslee & Crain.

Crain said the deal was “complicated,” and that the title won’t transfer for two to three months, even though the new owners have taken possession of the property and “all financial responsibility of ownership.”

The 12-acre property includes nine acres of planted vineyard, a 20,000-case winery permit and wine-making facility, a 160-seat restaurant, a tasting room and “sought after permits” for tours and public events, according to Blakeslee & Crain, which functions as both an appraiser and a broker for wine-related properties.

“I was a guy from Baltimore thinking I’d like to get into the wine business,” O’Neill said in the Dec. 9 statement, adding that the process of locating the right property took less than a year, from start to finsh.

Blakeslee & Crain said they’ve closed four deals in the last two months, ranging from $1 million to $3 million in size, despite the tough economy.