Zepponi & Company Advises Ponzi Vineyards on Sale to Bollinger Family
Posted on May 05, 2021
ZEPPONI & COMPANY PRESS RELEASE
Santa Rosa, Calif., May 5, 2021 - Zepponi & Company, a leading merger and acquisition advisory firm specializing in the beverage alcohol industry, is pleased to announce that it served as exclusive financial advisor to Oregon’s Ponzi Vineyards on its sale to France’s Bollinger family, owners of Champagne Bollinger. The transaction closed on Wednesday, May 4, 2021.
Established in 1970, Ponzi Vineyards was one of the earliest wineries in the Willamette Valley. Inspired by a vacation in Burgundy, Dick and Nancy Ponzi brought their young family from California to Oregon in 1969. Dick, an engineer by trade, had been making wine at home for years, and believed Oregon was capable of producing world class Pinot Noir. The Willamette Valley was not an established winegrowing region in the early 1970s. There were only four wineries at the time and the main crops were hazelnuts, cherries, apples and hay. Experts at University of California at Davis claimed that Oregon was too cold to grow Pinot Noir, but the Ponzis persisted. They collaborated with other winemaking pioneers including David Lett, Dick Erath and David Adelsheim, and together they laid the groundwork for Oregon's modern wine industry. Ponzi Vineyards celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2020.