Laetitia Winery Bought by Longtime Winemaker

A preferred sipping spot for generations of Central Coast residents and passersby over four decades, Laetitia Winery lost a bit of its luster in recent years after being purchased in 2019 by Vintage Wine Estates. The conglomerate — which owned more than 60 brands and went public with a $600 million offering in 2021 — abruptly closed the tasting room this past January to much public outcry. Then Vintage filed for bankruptcy in July, leaving Laetitia and dozens of other brands up for auction. 

But this tumultuous story now has a happy twist. It was announced on Friday, October 4, that Laetitia’s new ownership group includes longtime winemaker Eric Hickey, whose father, Dave Hickey, was one of the estate’s first employees when it opened as Maison Deutz in 1983. The younger Hickey started working harvests with his dad in the late 1980s, became an employee at 22 years old in 1994, and has been there ever since. 

“The last five years have been crazy, and the last year has been nuts, but there’s a good outcome now with private ownership again,” said Hickey, who will oversee operations as Laetitia’s general manager/winemaker. “This is my 30th year here, and with my dad’s history and my brother as cellar master, it’s really exciting to be an actual proprietor.”

The two other owners are Ejnar Knudsen, a former Cal Poly student whose family has been in San Joaquin Valley agriculture for more than a century; and Jeff Nicholson, the parent of a Cal Poly grad who comes from a food and farming distribution background. Both Knudsen and Nicholson were original investors in Vintage, but departed as the company went public. During Vintage’s bankruptcy proceedings on August 29, Knudsen won the stalking horse bid for Laetitia as well as Oregon’s Owen Roe, purchasing both properties for $9.3 million. Details of the new Laetitia ownership deal were not divulged. 

Eric Hickey’s tenure began right before the name changed from Maison Deutz — which was founded as a sparkling wine producer — to Laetitia in 1995. He stayed on in 2001 when the winery was purchased by Iraqi-British entrepreneur Selim Zilkha, who was 92 years old when he sold it to Vintage 20 years later. While the winery lost some wine club members under the corporate ownership of Vintage, Hickey gave the company credit for not cutting corners on the wine. 

“They never messed with us on the winemaking,” he said. “They supported it, they bought our barrels, and they didn’t try to mess with us.”

While the tasting room closed earlier this year (it reopened two months ago), the production kept right on rolling as usual, at least until this current harvest. As the bankruptcy proceeded, Hickey was not allowed to pick any grapes, so he plans to start that next week. 

“I haven’t brought in a single grape yet,” said Hickey, but he confirmed that the chardonnay and pinot noir in their cool-climate estate still look good. “We’ll be back swinging for the back half of harvest.”  

Going forward, Hickey said, “The plan is to be a smaller, more focused operation.” They will rely heavily on direct sales through their wine clubs and the tasting room, which will be remodeled, as well as “modest” wholesale effort. They’re also planning to replant 100 acres of vines around the property over the next five years.  

“The business is very focused and very consumer-centric,” said Hickey. “”We’re just gonna be working it like a family-owned business.”

See laetitiawine.com.