Napa Valley winery destroyed by wildfire is snapped up by new power player

Five years after it was devastated by wildfire, a historic Napa Valley winery has sold to one of the region’s new power players — an up-and-coming investment firm.

Last year, Third Leaf Partners purchased Cain Vineyards and Winery, a 46-year-old Spring Mountain winery that was devastated by the Glass Fire in 2020.

A large portion of the vineyards, known for producing some of the area’s more European style blends, were destroyed along with a tasting room. The Meadlock family, who previously owned it, had hoped to rebuild but struggled to get things up and running. 

The San Francisco investment firm did not purchase the entire estate, but instead the inventory and brand, suggesting there could be more.

“Napa is an incredible winemaking region, and I think there’s a lot of financial stress in the valley. There’s a lot of pressure, banks are kind of backing away and a lot of sources of funding are drying up,” the company’s managing partner Alex Pagon told the San Francisco Chronicle.

“That creates the opportunity for us to find great brands and wineries that may not have a solid future.” 

Most of the vines were destroyed in the fire, but there’s been significant replanting over the last few years. Cain’s winemaker, Chris Howell, said that by 2030 all of it will be restored. 

Howell who’s been working for the winery for 35 years said that they’ve already replanted two-thirds of the vineyard that was destroyed in the blaze. 

The winemaker credited the wines unique flavor with the fact that the vineyard is built on “thin, clay-rich soils founded on ancient bedrock,” and the “cool, wet side of the Mayacamas ridgeline.” It sits 2,000 feet on a ridge that borders Napa and Sonoma county line. The brand’s flagship wine is Cain Five.

The investment firm said they do not plan to make “any changes to the wine making.”

“Chris has never wavered in the quality or style of the wines he makes, and they’re clearly of a place.”

The Cain estate, which includes 500 acres, is going to another undisclosed buyer, Pagon said.

The company has slowly been building its wine portfolio over the last few years with the purchase of Winebid, an online auction site, in 2017, followed by the purchase of online wine shop Last Bottle in 2021. 

In 2024, the investment firm bought Cornerstone Cellars and its most renowned wine brand Conn Creek from St. Michelle Wine Estates.

The wine industry in Napa has been struggling with the closure of one winemaker in the area after another, as demand drops amid changes in wine drinking habits between generations.

Major winemaker Gallo recently announced the closure of a large production facility and the elimination of nearly 100 jobs across the wine growing region of Napa and Sonoma counties.

Foley Family Wines & Spirits has also shut down its production facility for the historic Central Coast winery Chalone.

Pagon said as the industry struggles, there’s “a big opportunity right now in California, and certainly in Napa” for his company.

“A lot of great businesses, if they can’t find a new backer, will face the difficult decision to close. Our goal is to keep as many of these businesses operating as possible.”

The Post has reached out to the company and winery for further comment.

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