Duckhorn wine co sold to private equity group

California wine company Duckhorn has been sold to a private equity firm based in San Francisco.

Napa’s Duckhorn Wine Company has passed from one private equity owner to another with its sale to San Francisco-based TSG Consumer Partners for an undisclosed sum.

The deal comes just weeks after reports that Duckhorn might be sold to Constellation Brands by current owner GI Partners.

In May, GI bought a controlling stake in another Napa-based wine company, Far Niente.

The sale to TSG includes all six Duckhorn winery properties – Duckhorn Vineyards, Goldeneye, Paraduxx, Migration, Decoy and Canvasback – and more than 600 acres of vineyards.

These include the famed Three Palms Vineyard in Napa Valley, which Duckhorn bought in May 2015.

TSG said all employees would be retained, including the winemakers at all six wineries, as well as president and CEO Alex Ryan.

Dan and Margaret Duckhorn, who founded the winery in 1976 and are known for their championing of the Merlot grape, will also continue to be involved in the business.

As well as the flagship Duckhorn Vineyards brand, the company also owns Napa red blend specialist Paraduxx, Anderson Valley Pinot Noir producer Goldeneye and Migration, maker of cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

After buying Duckhorn in 2007, GI Partners said it had invested more than $60m in the company.

It said that it expanded vineyard ownership by 350 acres, invested in winemaking facilities and set up Canvasback, a Cabernet Sauvignon from Red Mountain in Washington State.

Ryan said TSG and the current management shared ‘an exciting vision for our company’s future’.

TSG president Jamie O’Hara described Duckhorn as ‘one of the most respected wine portfolios in the world’.

Duckhorn has around 90 hectares of vineyards in Napa Valley.