Signorello Estate Files for Bankruptcy Protection 9 Years After Wildfire

Signorelllo Estate, a Napa Valley winery that was destroyed by the Atlas Fire nine years ago, has filed for Bankruptcy Act protection just two years after it opened a new winery.

American AgCredit, Signorello's lender, moved to foreclose on the winery’s land, buildings, equipment and the right to use the Signorello Estate name, citing $37 million in debt. 

G3 Enterprises, a wine packaging company that is owned by third generation members of the Gallo family, is owed nearly $88,000 and is Signorello's largest creditor. Other major creditors include Liquor Control Board of Ontario (Signorello is Canadian), plus a number of barrel and cork suppliers.

Having lost everything in the fire, Signorello set out to rebuild, and to make the rebuilt winery as fireproof as possible. The 20,000 square-foot winery is built out of steel and concrete,. It has an additional well for firefighting. He dug caves into the hillside, which he insulated and refrigerated. It is fully solar powered and has its own wastewater management system.

But the new winery was much more expensive and took a lot longer to build than planned, with the project exceeding his timeline and budget. The delays included three years to get the proper permits, a lengthy battle with his insurer, and the pandemic which halted construction.

An auction of the estate has been halted as a result of the bankruptcy filing.