Napa Valley’s Signorello Estate has declared bankruptcy nine years after the winery was destroyed by wildfire — and just two years after it opened a flashy new winery.
Four weeks ago, the estate’s lender, American AgCredit, moved to foreclose on the winery’s land, buildings, equipment and the right to use the Signorello Estate name, citing $37 million in debt. A public auction scheduled for Friday outside the Napa County Courthouse was postponed to Sept. 25 due to the bankruptcy filed yesterday.
According to the filing, G3 Enterprises, a wine packaging company founded by the Gallo family, is Signorello’s largest unsecured creditor, with a debt of nearly $88,000. (Earlier this month, G3 announced, unrelatedly, that it was laying off 66 workers and shutting down one of its facilities.) Other major creditors include the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (Signorello is Canadian), plus a number of barrel and cork suppliers.
Founded in 1977 by Ray Signorello Jr. and his father, Signorello Estate, known for Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux blends, was the first winery confirmed to have burned down during the Atlas Fire that tore through Napa’s eastern hillsides in October 2017. Within days, Signorello, who did not respond to the Chronicle’s request for comment, vowed to rebuild. It ended up taking six years and a lot of money; Signorello told the Chronicle in 2024 that the project far exceeded his timeline and budget. The delays included a three-year period to obtain the proper permits, a drawn-out battle with his insurer and the pandemic, which brought construction to a halt…