Campari pulls out of still wines with 20.5 million euros Sancerre sale | Progresiv
Gruppo Campari will sell its French wine business Château de Sancerre after just a year, marking its final move away from the still wine category. The business is being bought for 20.5 million euros by Maison Ackerman, the wine division of Terrena, which has interests across the agricultural industry. As well as wine, Terrena owns a number of meat brands including Pére Dodu and Doux. 
The sale includes all of Sancerre’s wines, as well as associated buildings, vineyards, vilification, production plants and inventory. The business generated 3.5 million euros in sales in 2016, and is the final area of Campari’s still wine business to be divested.
Chief executive officer Bob Kunze-Concewitz said: “With the disposal of the Sancerre winery, which follows the sale of the Italian and the Chilean still wine businesses, finalised over the last year, Gruppo Campari fully exits the still wine business, thus continuing to streamline its non-core activities and increasing its focus on the core spirits business. Since the beginning of 2016 we have divested non-core assets for a total value of approximately 117 million euros.”
The Château de Sancerre winery spans over 55 hectares of vineyards and its portfolio is comprised of acclaimed wines from France’s Loire Valley. The winery was founded in 1919 by Louis-Alexandre Marnier Lapostolle, the creator of Grand Marnier liqueur, and entered into Gruppo Campari’s perimeter in the context of the Grand Marnier acquisition completed in June 2016.
The transaction will be closed once it receives final approval from local authorities. (www.foodbev.com)
