New York State's 2d-Largest Winery Purchased, Operations to Be Restored

Vine Enterprises LLC, a private equity firm from Carmel, Ind. will acquire and take over operation of the historic Pleasant Valley Winery. Including the cost of redeveloping and restoring the winery, which closed last year, the transaction is valued at about $47 million.

Before it closed, Pleasant Valley was the second largest winery in New York State. Founded in 1860, it was the first federally bonded winery in the U.S. and was legally able to market its sparkling wines as "champagne."

For many years Pleasant Valley Winery offered contract services for wineries and vineyards on an industrial scale. At its height, more than 100 businesses relied on Pleasant Valley every year for services such as grape pressing, storage, barrelage, processing, bottling, packaging, warehousing of dry goods and bonded cold storage. Unfortunately, after 165 years of business, it shuttered its operations last year.

Vine Enterprises also owns the Keuka Spring Vineyards in Penn Yan.

New York State is the nation’s second-largest wine producer. The wine industry generates close to $16.81 billion in total economic activity in the State of New York and includes more than 400 wine producers as well as 32,149 acres of vineyards.

Additionally the New York wine industry directly employs as many as 45,387 people, and generates an additional 16,778 jobs in supplier and ancillary industries which supply goods and services to the industry, and whose sales depend on the wine industry’s economic activity. Ultimately, 83,193 jobs are created and supported by the wine industry.