DFV Wines Expands Reach in Napa: Buys Black Stallion Winery

Delicato Family Vineyards has reached an agreement to purchase Black Stallion Winery from owners Terry and Michael Maglich.

The winery, located in the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley along the Silverado Trail, includes 30 acres, a grandfathered 100,000-gallon use permit, as well as a public tasting room.

DFV had been looking for a presence in Napa for some time.

The purchase gives the company a presence in direct sales, and a large enough facility to do some of their own custom crush and barrel storage in Napa. Previously the company utilized other facilities in Napa or sent wine back to Manteca for processing.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to own a Napa property,” DFV Wines chief executive Chis Indelicato said. “We’ve made wines from Napa for years and now we’ll be able to produce them in Napa.”

Joe Ciatti of Zepponi & Company, who has a long-standing relationship with the Indelicato family, represented the seller in the transaction. Terms were not disclosed.

Indelicato told winebusiness.com the name of the winery will remain Black Stallion; and that DFV will operate the winery with an eye toward understanding the business and tasting room operations; while over the long term, DFV will develop a portfolio of wines out of the facility to be distributed nationally and internationally. Today, DFV's Napa brands include Irony and Gnaughty Vine.

Black Stallion Winery takes its name from an equestrian facility, the Silverado Horseman's Center, which was located on the grounds many years ago. The winery was built starting in about 2005.

The Indelicato family has been making wine for more than 75 years and owns more than 10,000 acres of vineyards along the Central Coast and near Lodi, California. DFV makes more than three million cases of wine a year, exporting to 60 countries. DFV also farms grapes for other wineries and has an outsourcing business where it does custom winemaking for many leading wineries—the equivalent of another nine million cases a year.

DFV’s own branded wine business has grown 25 percent by volume during the past 12 months according to the Gomberg-Fredrickson Report.

"The Black Stallion acquisition fulfills my family's dream of owning an estate in the Napa Valley," Chris Indelicato said in a press release. "My grandfather planted our first vineyards in the 1920s and we began to make wine in the 30s. "My father and uncles continued to lead the company forward by purchasing vineyards in Lodi and Monterey. The third generation has had an eye on the Napa Valley for some time and my brother Jay and I, along with cousins Cheryl, Mike, Frank Jr. and Marie, are proud to honor the family's legacy of producing wines from California's most prestigious growing regions. We look forward to offering estate bottled Napa Valley wines with the quality that Delicato Family Vineyards is known for."

Indelicato told winebusiness.com that DFV has offered Black Stallion’s employees the opportunity to apply and remain with the company. “They have a really talented team of people there and we’re hopeful that the employees we offer jobs to will stay on,” he said.