Foley Family Wines to buy New Zealand winery

Sonoma’s Foley Family Wines has agreed to buy the New Zealand Wine Trust, a Kiwi sauvignon blanc specialist, for an undisclosed sum.

Tim Matz, Foley’s president, made the announcement Wednesday afternoon. Foley Family Wines produces a number of premium wine brands including Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery, Firestone Vineyards, Kuleto Estate, Merus, Lincourt and Foley Estates.

The so-called “Heads of Agreement” deal, similar to a stock purchase agreement and letter of intent, would include taking on full ownership of the New Zealand company and brands such as Vavasour, Goldwater, Clifford Bay, Boatshed Bay, Dashwood and Redwood Pass, according to Foley. The wine trust boasts estimated production of 280,000 cases annually, with the capacity to boost that to 350,000 cases a year, said Foley Family Wines spokeswoman Megghen Driscol.

The sale is expected to close in two to three months.

“It’s still very early in the process, but we are extremely enthusiastic about the possibilities of this acquisition,” Matz said in the Aug. 5 statement, noting that New Zealand has been moving up in the wine world in recent years.

Foley Family Wines was founded in 1996 by Bill Foley, chairman and CEO of title insurance company Fidelity National Financial; the growing wine business is now based in Sonoma at the Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery site, purchased by Foley last year.