The US wine company The Wine Group (TWG) has sold Concannon Vineyard in the Livermore Valley, along with its vineyards, to two local companies: Lemmons Family Vineyards (LFV) and Darcie Kent Winery (DKW). This was announced in a press release by LFV on December 2.
TWG had already announced in 2022 its intention to part ways with Concannon. This marks the latest change of ownership for one of the most historic wineries in the San Francisco Bay area. Founded in 1883, Concannon Vineyard was home to some of California’s first Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon vines, as well as the first single-varietal Petite Sirah.
Concannon Vineyard was sold for the first time in 1982 after being owned by multiple generations of the same family. In 1992, a partnership led by the Wente family, from the neighboring Wente Vineyards, acquired Concannon Vineyard. The winery was eventually purchased by TWG in 2002, which owns brands such as Beringer, Franzia, and Glen Ellen. Under TWG CEO David Kent, production was significantly expanded. Kent left TWG in 2012 and, with his family, founded Darcie Kent Winery, which is now one of the buyers of Concannon Vineyard.
Looking ahead, Tom and Paige Lemmons, the owners of LFV, shared their future plans for Concannon: “We will stop international bottlings and focus on replanting the vineyards with the historic varietals like Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc, which made Livermore famous in the 1880s. However, we will not lose sight of Concannon’s pioneering work with Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah.” Additionally, the winery plans to return to organic farming practices and transform the 18,000-square-foot bottling facility into the long-awaited Livermore Valley Wine Country Center. This new center will provide small family wineries with high-quality production spaces. SP
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