Fiji Water acquires Justin Winery

Billionaire Stewart Resnick’s Fiji Water has bought Justin Vineyard & Winery in Paso Robles, California for an undisclosed price.

Entrepreneurs Lynda and Stewart Resnick will add upscale wine to their investments of bottled water with Justin Vineyards, which makes 50,000 cases of wine a year.

The acquisition, completed on Friday, is one of eight this year in California.

According to the Wine Institute, based in San Francisco, there have been twice as many takeovers in 2010 as there were in 2009 and the most since 2007 before the recession began.

Consumers are opting for cheaper brands meanwhile a decrease in land values and a rise in volume from other countries are all taking its toll on the Californian wine industry , which may have led to these most recent acquisitions.

Although the deal for Justin Vineyards comes at a time when many companies are struggling, San Luis Obispo County’s oldest and most popular boutique winery, is widely seen as doing very well.

According to president of Fiji Water, John Cochran, the winery is in a better position than some of its competitors.

Speaking to the LA Times Cochran said: “Justin Vineyards has been doing quite well. They’ve just had their best year ever. We plan to take a lot of that good momentum and push it farther.”  

Owner Justin Baldwin, who will stay on in the business, revealed that his decision to sell was based on financial planning and he lacked the “financial wherewithal” to continue alone.

Jerome Butcher, 09.12.2010