>>5657598

>Agustin Huneeus Jr

https://www.sfgate.com/wine/article/Surprise-Rothschild-bid-for-Napa-winery-Three-2777342.php

Surprise Rothschild bid for Napa winery / Three partners would produce a new luxury brand

Carol Emert, Chronicle Staff Writer Published 4:00 am PDT, Tuesday, May 18, 2004

The owner of renowned Bordeaux wine producer Chateau Lafite Rothschild and two other key international players announced a joint venture Monday that would take Napa-based Chalone Wine Group private and create a new prestige wine marketing company.

A new luxury brand is part of the deal – a Napa Valley-Bordeaux hybrid along the lines of Opus One, which is co-owned by Robert Mondavi Corp. and Chateau Mouton Rothschild, and Dominus, a Yountville brand controlled by Christian Moueix, the owner of Chateau Petrus.

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If the joint venture is finalized, each of the new company's three partners – Chalone and Lafite Rothschild owner Domaines Barons de Rothschild (DBR); Constellation Wines, a division of Constellation Brands of Fairport, N.Y.; and Huneeus Vintners, owner of Quintessa Estate in St. Helena – will contribute assets, share a sales force and split profits from the new company.

The proposed new brand would be the first California wine to be made "under the guidance" of the prestigious DBR, which is owned by the London- and Paris-based Rothschild clans and run by managing director Baron Eric de Rothschild.

he also partnered with rothchild to buy winery

>>5657598

cont

The joint venture, which has not been named, will be run by Agustin Francisco Huneeus, who is part of a powerful Chilean winemaking family led by his father, Agustin Huneeus. The elder Huneeus and his wife Valeria own the 10, 000-case, $100-per-bottle Quintessa brand.

The Huneeus family owned Franciscan Estates until Constellation bought it and turned Franciscan into its luxury wine division. Until a few months ago, Agustin Francisco Huneeus ran Franciscan for Constellation, but left to look for entrepreneurial opportunities. One of the people he approached was Eric Rothschild, a friend of his father, and the two began exploring ways their families could work together.

markets, in part because it lacked liquidity due to DBR's ownership.

The proposed venture is likely to be more successful, Chalone's high- quality brands benefiting from the marketing and sales support of the joint- venture partners, Fredrikson said.

"There's a lot of growth potential there," Fredrikson said.

Constellation will contribute $54 million in cash, plus a 280-acre vineyard in Oakville valued at $27.2 million, to the joint venture. The Huneeus family will offer net assets of $68 million – the Quintessa winery, vineyard and brand, minus Quintessa's debt.

DBR will offer its Chalone shares, worth $51.4 million, plus an additional $10 million in cash.

The tally is that Constellation will contribute 39 percent of the total assets, the Huneeus' offer will be 32 percent and DBR will add 29 percent. But voting power among the partners will be evenly distributed – one-third to each, said Dworkin.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5652925/CA-gov-candidate-Gavin-Newsom-says-drinks-moderation-giving-alcohol-following-affair.html

California gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom reveals he now drinks in moderation after giving up alcohol when his affair with his campaign manager's wife was revealed

Gavin Newsom, now Lt. Governor of California, says he is now able to drink in moderation after admitting to a drinking problem in 2007 following revelations of an affair.

Newsom, 50, says he quit drinking for two years after his affair with his married office underling, Ruby Rippey-Tourk, became public. He too was married at the time - to a now Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle, 49.

The politician, who is running for Governor, told SF Gate last week that he started drinking moderately again. 'It was a reset,' he said of his abstinence. 'And I'm glad I did it. It was a great thing to do. And it was easy to do.'

'I literally one day, just stopped for a couple of years,' Newsom says. But he didn't do it entirely on his own. He says he credits his success to the Delancey Street Foundation in San Francisco, and it's CEO, Mimi Silbert.

cheated with the blond that worked for him