California winery destroyed in wildfire declares bankruptcy two years after flashy comeback
Napa Valley’s Signorello Estate has declared bankruptcy nine years after the winery was destroyed by wildfire — and just two years after it opened a flashy new winery.
Four weeks ago, the estate’s lender, American AgCredit, moved to foreclose on the winery’s land, buildings, equipment and the right to use the Signorello Estate name, citing $37 million in debt. A public auction scheduled for Friday outside the Napa County Courthouse was postponed to Sept. 25 due to the bankruptcy filed Thursday.
According to the filing, G3 Enterprises, a wine packaging company founded by the Gallo family, is Signorello’s largest unsecured creditor, with a debt of nearly $88,000. (Earlier this month, G3 announced, unrelatedly, that it was laying off 66 workers and shutting down one of its facilities.) Other major creditors include the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (Signorello is Canadian), plus a number of barrel and cork suppliers.