Cain Vineyard & Winery Assets Bought by Investors

After the Glass fire in 2020 reduced a storied Napa Valley estate to ashes, its wine brand has found a new owner.

San Francisco-based investment firm Third Leaf Partners acquired Cain Vineyard & Winery’s brand, stepping in after the St. Helena producer failed to rebound from the 2020 wildfire, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The deal includes Cain’s brand and inventory but excludes the company’s 500-acre mountaintop estate, which is being marketed for sale separately. The purchase price was not disclosed.

The property sits 2,000 feet above sea level on a ridge of Spring Mountain, directly on the Napa–Sonoma county line. Cain’s winery and tasting room were never rebuilt after the Glass fire, and the prior owners, the Meadlock family, planned to rebuild the winery but didn’t make much progress in the five years that followed. Third Leaf is now negotiating a long-term grape supply agreement tied to the estate, where replanting efforts are underway and expected to fully restore production by 2030.

The transaction highlights a growing split between wine brands and the real estate they were built on, particularly in Napa. Investment firms and private capital have been scooping up wineries and wine portfolios in recent years, often decoupling operations from real estate or acquiring properties through distress.

New York-based MGG Investment Group took over Spring Mountain Vineyard, which sits roughly two miles east of Cain Vineyard & Winery and was also burned in the 2020 wildfire, after the winery defaulted on a $185 million loan from the firm. Los Angeles-based private equity outfit Butterfly Equity acquired The Duckhorn Portfolio in 2024.

Third Leaf has largely been targeting distressed or transitional wineries with direct-to-consumer models and legacy cachet. Its foray into the wine world began in 2017 when it bought online wine auction site WineBid. In 2021, the company acquired online wine retailer Last Bottle. And in 2024, Third Leaf took over two longtime Napa Valley brands with the acquisition of Conn Creek from Ste. Michelle Wine Estates and Cornerstone Cellars from one of its co-founders. — Chris Malone Méndez