Did anyone get the mailing list letter about Steve Kistler stepping down from Kistler Vineyards to focus on Occidental. I’m not quite sure what to make of this. I also don’t fully understand why there is a 2nd winery. Does he not own Kistler Vineyards anymore? I’ve only been on the Kistler and Occidental list for a few years so don’t know the history here.
Wine Business has a short article (winery’s press release?) on this:
Kistler Vineyard’s Jason Kesnier Will Take Over Direction of All Winemaking and Vineyard Operations
Posted on December 13, 2017
(December 13, 2017 — Sebastopol, CA) — Steve Kistler, and Managing Partner, Bill Price, of Kistler Vineyards jointly announce that Steve is stepping down as CEO and Director of Winemaking in December 2017, after 39 years of managing the iconic winery he founded in 1978. Steve will move on to focus on winemaking at his family’s Occidental brand, crafting site specific Pinot Noir with his daughters.
“Steve and I have been working together since I purchased Durell Vineyard in 1997, and will continue to do so in the future,” says Bill Price. “When I led a group of investors that eventually purchased a majority stake in Kistler in 2008, Steve and I planned out an orderly succession plan and brought in Jason Kesner 9-years ago to begin an Old-World style apprenticeship at Steve’s side. Today’s announcement is the natural conclusion of this process, and we are all very excited about the next stage in Kistler’s storied history”
Jason Kesner added, “I am humbled to have been selected to carry the torch at Kistler Vineyards. These are a special set of vineyards and wines that are a big part of winemaking history in California. Having them in my continued care and seeing to the next generation of their expression and growth is an honor. I have a great team filled with people who have been pruning these vines and tending to the fermentations for the last 25 years. We’re looking forward to continuing to guide the tradition of site driven wines, that the winery was founded on. I can’t wait to see where we can take them in the next 25 years.”
“For years my hope has been that my daughters Catherine and Elizabeth would one day join me at Occidental, working by my side in our vineyards and winery. This day has finally come, and so I am pleased to be handing off my current responsibilities at Kistler Vineyards to people I have worked with for many years,” said Steve Kistler.
ABOUT KISTLER VINEYARDS
Founded in 1978, Kistler Vineyards is a small, privately owned and operated winery dedicated to the vinification of world class Chardonnay and Pinot Noir using old world Burgundian techniques to bring out the very best in our new world vineyards. Kistler Vineyards has consistently bottled some of the finest examples of these two varietals for almost 40 years. The winery produces single vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noirs, which are available exclusively to our mailing list members. A small amount of Kistler Vineyard wines are sold in top quality restaurants and retail stores in select markets throughout the country. To learn more, please visit: http://www.kistlervineyards.com/.
Region: Other North Coast
Job Function: Winemaking, Vineyard Management/Viticulture
This is like the nth version of this same sort of story I’ve seen this year.
And every time I read these stories, I keep thinking to myself: If you intend to sell out one day, then for the sake of Goodness, do NOT put your family name on the label.
Build up your marketing “goodwill” with an abstract name, which won’t cast aspersions on your family [or on you, yourself] after you sell your soul to the loot-mongers.
When Bill Cadman started Tulocay I asked him why he did not use his own name. He said that after he sold out he did not want the buyer to be burdened with phone calls for Mr Cadman. Last time I checked this was not an issue.
I had a friend who worked at the Christian Dior Men’s boutique in Paris. Every now and then somebody would ask to be remembered to Christian. My friend never knew what to say, as Dior had passed on some time earlier.
Slight tangent. I used to work at a law firm with the name of three of the oldest partners: X, Y, and Z. Every year, one of the associates was designated “Mr. X,” meaning that whenever someone called
and asked for Mr. X, the calls would be routed to that associate to field.
One day I got a call asking for Mr. X. I politely explained that Mr. X had passed years ago and was no longer with us. The caller then asked for Mr. Y. I explained that the status was the same for Mr. Y. The caller
then said “that’s awful, did Mr. X and Mr. Y die at the same time?!?!?!”
These calls rarely generated any actual legal business.
Bruce
San Francisco is full of law firms named after dead partners.
Think about the rag trade: has anybody seen Lou Vuitton lately?? Coco Chanel?? How are the Brooks brothers??
The wine biz is full of eponymous wineries whose owners have moved on: Mondavi, Fetzer, Simi, Williams-Selyem, Martin Ray, Paul Masson, Al Madden, etc.
Chalk Hill was originally named after the owner’s first wife, Donna Maria. When they got divorced, the winery was re named.
Been watching wineries and vineyards changing hands by the dozens for the last 8 -10 years. I’ve seen outrageous prices paid for some, but the majority are being bought up by the majors. On the other hand, after working your butt off for ten, twenty, thirty years, why not sell for big dollars plus a part-time job and enjoy the fruits of your labors. What amazes me is the people who buy a brand and/or brand name for major dollars. They aren’t buying a physical winery or physical vineyard, they are buying a name, then pay the person they bought it from 150K to make or consult in the making of the wine.
Quite a while ago, I received mail addressed to Eric Sunbald. That convinced me to not use Lundblad in my winery name 
I like that!
There is a company that addresses me as Amtoin Poison. It tickles me so much that I’ve never corrected them.