Bankruptcy Judge Approves Sale of ‘Sideways’ Sibling Winery

EnCap Investment LP’s Robert Zorich has the bankruptcy court’s approval to complete his $1.7 million purchase of a large chunk of Alma Rosa Winery’s vineyards.

Although the winery is under new ownership, perhaps little about the pinot noir wines, made famous in the movie “Sideways,” will change. The deal plans for hall-of-fame winemaker Richard Sanford to continue producing wine on the property as an employee.

According to court documents, the purchase hasn’t yet closed but received the bankruptcy court’s blessing earlier this week.

Many of the details including price and property description were public from previously filed court documents—the 110-acre Santa Ynez Valley, Calif., property includes 52 acres of vineyard and a 4-acre homestead. However, there was one new detail in the sale order—Mr. Zorich will purchase the property using an entity called Vin de Zo LLC. (Mr. Zorich is purchasing the property personally, not on behalf of EnCap.)

The sale is still contingent on the approval of Mr. Sanford’s lender, Deutsche Bank National Trust, owed $2.6 million. The bank has filed a motion of no opposition, indicating it’s largely in favor of the deal.

Mr. Sanford sold a separate parcel of the land in April to John Wagner, also for $1.7 million. That deal included a one-year leaseback provision, which allows Mr. Sanford to continue to use the property during that period. That parcel consists of 102 acres of land and the Alma Rosa tasting room.

Neither Mr. Sanford nor Mr. Zorich returned request for comment Friday.

Alma Rosa Winery and Vineyard  was founded by Mr. Sanford in 2005 and released its first wine the following year. The winery is Mr. Sanford’s third. His second, Sanford Winery, was featured prominently in the 2004 movie “Sideways,” which brought the Santa Ynez region and its pinot noirs to the mainstream.

Write to Stephanie Gleason at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @StephGleason.