A winery founded by one of Sonoma County’s best-known winemaking families is for sale.
Imagery Estate Winery in Glen Ellen, which was started in the 1980s by Joe Benziger, whose family also founded nearby Benziger Family Winery, has quietly been on the market since early December. Bids for the nearly 20-acre property are due Jan. 21. The listing agents would not name a price.
The seller is the Wine Group, the country’s second-largest wine corporation, which acquired Imagery in 2015. Although the Wine Group has not produced any wine on site for the last two years, according to the property brokers, the Imagery Estate brand is not included in the sale. The Wine Group did not respond to requests for comment.
“What’s unique is the hospitality flexibility,” said Kevin Otus, founder of Onyx Asset Advisors, which is representing the seller. While many Sonoma County wineries have strict limits on visitation, Imagery’s permit is unusually lenient, allowing for up to 24 large events per year, including two events for up to 400 people. Unlike most Napa and Sonoma wineries, the winery is allowed to host weddings, a particularly lucrative business…