A piece of Willamette Valley wine history just changed hands. The Carlton Winemakers Studio is now owned by Hampton Lumber, a fourth-generation family-owned wood products company based in Portland.
Partners Eric Hamacher, his wife and Ponzi Vineyards winemaker Luisa Ponzi, and Ned and Kirsten Lumpkin announced the sale on Wednesday, Aug. 25. Hardcore Portland soccer fans will know Hampton Lumber as the Timbers sponsor that supplies “victory logs” for Timber Joey’s chainsaw.
The sale was brokered by METIS, a mergers and acquisitions firm specializing in the Pacific Northwest wine industry. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The Carlton Winemakers Studio was born of necessity in 2002. Hamacher needed a place to make wine, and Ned Lumpkin, whose idea of retirement from Seattle’s construction industry was planting a vineyard, needed a winemaker. They decided to build a winery on the outskirts of Carlton, where Hamacher could make his wines and the wines for Lumpkin’s Lazy River Vineyard label.
The partners also looked to generate extra cash flow by making their facility large enough to share with other winemakers. Hamacher and his partners provided space, equipment, and support staff in exchange for rent based on the weight of a tenant’s fruit at harvest time.
Their business plan was not the typical custom crush facility where people pay a winery owner to make wines for them. Instead, Hamacher and Lumpkin’s concept is “alternating proprietorship,” where each winemaker makes their own wines as if their share of the studio is a stand-alone winery.
“I likened it to having college roommates with different aspirations, abilities and funding sources living under one common roof,” Hamacher said.
The only problem: it was illegal for multiple winemakers to operate under one roof in those days.
“People were doing it anyway, with a wink and a nod, but we didn’t want to risk losing everything if regulators decided to suddenly crackdown,” Hamacher said. Hamacher successfully lobbied in Salem for a bill to change the law before proceeding with their groundbreaking model, a first in Oregon and likely a first for the country.
The Carlton Winemakers Studio became an oasis for winemakers who couldn’t afford or didn’t want to build their own winery. Instead of making wines “off to the side” of a large winery’s cellar, the studio offered tenants equal status and state-of-the-art equipment sized to their needs. In addition to Hamacher, the studio’s inaugural lineup included notable winemakers such as Andrew Rich, Lynn Penner-Ash and Tony Soter.
The decision to sell the studio was also born of necessity. Hamacher hasn’t made wine at the studio since 2015. As a result, he finds himself spending significantly less time there.
“With Luisa and I focusing more and more on making our own respective wines at our Hamacher and Ponzi Vineyards locations, this move made sense,” Hamacher said.
For the Lumpkins, it is the end of a “retirement” that began in 2000, when they were 60-year olds planting a vineyard.
“We love the studio’s collegiality, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to get down there. It was just time,” Kirsten Lumpkin said in a telephone interview. 2019 is the last vintage for their Lazy River wines, although Lumpkin said they would continue to sell their grapes to other wineries.
All of the partners said it was vital for them to find the right buyer.
“We are thrilled the Hampton family is buying the studio, and we feel lucky they are committed to carrying on our original mission. This place could easily have ended up as just another stand-alone winery,” Hamacher said.
Hampton Lumber already owns two vineyards near Monmouth and Carlton.
“The family was looking to diversify, and who doesn’t love wine?” Steve Zika, Hampton Lumber’s chief executive officer, said.
Hampton Lumber isn’t planning to make any significant changes at the Carlton Winemakers Studio in the short term. Studio general manager Anthony King and his four full-time staff members are all staying on, which Zika said is essential.
“We have such respect for Anthony and his staff. If any of those people weren’t staying, there wouldn’t have been a deal,” Zika said.
Hampton Lumber also purchased a small piece of land next to the studio. King and Zika said they were looking forward to figuring out the best way to develop the property in order to expand the studio’s capabilities.
This should be welcome news to winemakers looking to get their big start.
“With the costs of making wine rising so quickly, lowering barriers to entry is even more important than it was 20 years ago,” Hamacher said.
-- Michael Alberty writes about wine for The Oregonian/OregonLive. He can be reached at malberty0@gmail.com. To read more of his coverage, go to oregonlive.com/wine.
"sold" - Google News
August 26, 2021 at 06:46AM
https://ift.tt/2Y2l00Z
Carlton Winemakers Studio is sold to local timber company - OregonLive
"sold" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3d9iyrC
https://ift.tt/3b37xGF
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Carlton Winemakers Studio is sold to local timber company - OregonLive"
Post a Comment