Jackson shifts Matanzas Creek production to Healdsburg

 
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT Matanzas Creek Winery, shown here in 2000, was bought by Jess Jackson for $45 million.

Vintner Jess Jackson is shifting production of Matanzas Creek wines from their Bennett Valley home to his larger Stonestreet Winery in Healdsburg to save money and take advantage of more specialized winemaking equipment.

The 25-year-old winery, popular with tourists for its fields of fragrant lavender, needs significant upgrades, including a new crush pad, said Caroline Shaw, spokeswoman for Jackson Family Wines.

No timeline has been set for the renovations and it is unknown when winemaking could return to the facility, Shaw said. It will be at least a year or two before upgrades could begin, she said.

Until those changes can be completed, most of the high-end 40,000-case brand will be made at Stonestreet east of Healdsburg. That larger facility is better equipped to handle Matanzas Creek's growing stable of small-production wines, she said.

Most Matanzas Creek wines sell for between $20 and $50.

The winery's popular tasting room, lavender products division and management offices are unaffected and remain open, she said.

Winemaker Francois Cordesse and about three other members of the production staff were informed last week they would be laid off at the end of the month as part of the move, she said.

Shaw denied the winery is being mothballed, noting that some winemaking will continue to occur there.

“The winery is not being shuttered,” she said.

Shaw also denied a report that Jackson planned to turn the brand into a value wine. The brand has a strong following as a boutique wine and Jackson only intends to find ways to increase the quality of its wines, she said.

Cordesse declined comment, citing a confidentiality agreement he has signed.

Jackson purchased Matanzas Creek and 80-acres of primarily chardonnay and merlot vineyards in 2000 from Bill and Sandra McIver for an estimated $45 million.

The winery was a remarkable Wine Country success story. The couple made their first wines at Matanzas Creek in 1978 inside an old barn on the property. Their second vintage, in 1979, won the Sweepstakes Award at the Sonoma County Harvest Fair and put the tiny winery on the map.

Jackson is the largest vineyard owner in the Bennett Valley grapegrowing region, which at his urging was officially recognized as an American Viticultural Area in 2003.

Jackson has purchased several smaller wineries in recent years and then consolidated their production for efficiency. He moved production of Anderson Valley zinfandel specialist Edmeades to Vinwood in Healdsburg, and Santa Maria pinot noir producer Byron to his nearby Cambria Winery & Vineyards.