eos winery

Bill Foley Adds Eos Wines To His Empire

Filed under: Wine

Lately it seems like every time I turn around billionaire Bill Foley is buying something new. The owner of Foley Family Wines recently announced the purchase of Eos winery in Paso Robles, California. The sale includes the Eos, Cupa Grandis, Lost Angel and Novella labels.

Eos winery was founded by the Arciero family in 1985 but sold to Sapphire Wines in 2007. The winery now produces Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Petite Sirah, Pinot Grigio among others along with really delicious dessert wines including a Late Harvest Moscato and an outstanding Zinfandel Port. Wines are in the $12 to $40 range. It puts out over 200,00 cases per year and is one of the stars of the growing Paso Robles region. The winery switched to being 100% solar powered in 2008. Back in May 2010, the winery went into receivership.

Foley Family Wines is based in Sonoma but has brands all the way from Napa to New Zealand. Foley is the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Fidelity National Financial Inc. He is also the developer of Rock Creek Cattle Company, an 80,000-acre working Montana ranch with a golf community and real estate development as well as other resort and farm properties around the world.

Tags: bill foley, eos winery, eos wines, paso robles, william p foley, william p foley ii

EOS Winery In Receivership

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

One of the largest wineries in the Paso Robles area of California, EOS Estate Winery has been placed in receivership. The San Luis Obispo Tribune reports that one of the winery's lenders, Farm Credit West, is acting as the court-ordered receiver and has been put in charge of the books. Business continues as usual at the winery which puts out over 200,000 cases of wine a year.

Saint James EOS Winery bought the company from Sapphire Wines, a Tennessee-based firm owned and controlled by Jeffrey Hopmayer and Saint James chief executive officer Kerry Vix says that the winery is in trouble because of extensive borrowing by the previous owner. Hopmayer meanwhile says that Saint James failed to obtain the necessary funding to keep the winery afloat because of the flabby economy.

EOS Estate Winery sells a large range of wines including whites, reds and desert wines. Most wines are in the $12-$40 range. It was founded by the Arciero family in 1985 but sold to Sapphire Wines in 2007. EOS owes an estimated $16.5 million to lenders, including a $7.5 million loan from Farm Credit West and $8 million owed to Entertainment Properties Trust. The winery also owes $2 million to $3 million to growers and $1.2 million in rent not paid since August 2009. As much as $1 million may be missing from the winery's books and a hunt is on find the missing finds. There is also talk of a potential buyer who might come in and takeover the winery. Another hearing on the case is scheduled for next week.

Tags: eos estate winery, eos winery, paso robles, receivership, winery