Peju family’s Calmére Estate Winery sold
Calmére Estate Winery in Carneros has been sold to an unnamed overseas investor.
The winery, which the Peju family had called Calmére since 2019, was sold on Oct. 8 for $16.8 million, according to a representative for the buyer, an investor from mainland China.
It was a cash transaction, said Tony Chan, managing broker for North America Real Estate Investment Group – NAREIG.
Chan, who is based in the Bay Area, continues to look for more agricultural land deals. “We’re looking for more,” Chan said, noting these investments are for the long term. Agricultural land, Chan said, is “just like gold.”
The Calmére sale included about 100 acres, with about 75 acres planted in vines as well as a winery, equipment included. The turn-key winery had been listed for $17.5 million.
The winery on Las Amigas Road can produce up to 250,000 gallons of wine a year. The new owner plans to operate a custom-crush facility at the winery, Chan said.
The identity of the new owner was not disclosed; however, in 2024 the same investor purchased about 300 acres on Ramal Road in Sonoma for about $24 million. Chan said that was also a cash transaction. The sale included more than 220 acres planted in vineyards, according to various sources. A house was on the property.
The ownership of the Sonoma property was “J&S Lee Vineyard Inc.” A series of trademark applications filed by that company after the sale listed Shawn Lee as the company president, according to the U.S. Patent and Office.
Ariana Peju, a daughter of the founders of the founders, signed the deed to sell the Carneros estate winery to “J&S Lee Winery Inc.”
Holly Evans, a spokeswoman for the Peju, said Calmére’s tasting room closed early 2022. “We continued to host winery events on the property until the sale was finalized,” Evans said in an email.
The Peju family sold Calmére “to refocus on the family’s original Napa Valley property in Rutherford – where the late Tony and Herta “HB” Peju first established the winery in 1983,” according to a company statement. Tony Peju died in 2023.
The property was known as Acacia Vineyard and Winery before Diageo Chateau and Estate Wines Company sold it to Peju Province Family in December 2015 for $15.7 million, according to county records.
The property became known as Liana Estates and LE Wines. The Pejus renamed it Calmére in 2019 after the Italian producer Cesari S.R.L. filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Peju Province and Winery over the wine name “Liana,” Tony Peju said during Calmére’s grand opening in 2019. Cesari alleged in court filings that “Liana” was too confusingly similar to its own brand “Liano.” Cesari eventually prevailed, according to court filings.
