Economic challenges in the wine sector, including a 21% decline in industry revenue from 2020 through 2025, according to Silicon Valley Bank’s State of the U.S. Wine Industry Report, have led several wineries to file for bankruptcy protection.
Among the wineries filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2026 were Sonoma, Calif.-based Robledo Family Winery Inc. on April 8, Vallecito, Calif.-based Aloria Vineyards on Feb. 24, and Kerman, Calif.-based Sran Vineyards on Feb. 23.
And now, Napa Valley winery Signorello Estate LP has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to halt a foreclosure sale that was scheduled for Aug. 28 and prepare the debtor for a going-concern sale to stalking-horse investors, according to court documents.
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Signorello Estate files for bankruptcy
The Napa, Calif.-based ultra-premium winery filed its petition, along with seven affiliates, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California in Santa Rosa on Aug. 27, listing $10 million to $50 million in assets and liabilities.
Signorello Estate, which was founded in 1977 by the father and son partnership of Ray Signorello Sr. and Ray Signorello Jr., developed a portfolio of wines consisting of its $15 per bottle Trim wines, $28 per bottle Edge Cabernet, $90 per bottle S Cabernet, and its ultra-premium Signorello Estate wines, priced in the $100 to $250 per bottle range.
Wildfire destroys winery facilities
The debtor started having financial difficulties beginning on Oct. 8, 2017, when the Atlas Peak wildfire destroyed the original Signorello Estate winery, hospitality center, house, offices, and laboratory, according to court papers.
The company’s rebuilding process and recovery was long and expensive and included a prolonged insurance dispute and litigation related to the 2017 fire. The winery faced subsequent smoke taint from additional wildfires in 2020, as well as significant economic difficulties affecting the wine industry, which included a decline in U.S. wine sales in Canada and elsewhere.
Economic difficulties prevented the debtor from servicing its substantial reconstruction debt held by lender American AgCredit. The debtor obtained a forbearance agreement from American AgCredit that allowed it to pursue a 10-month-long sale process that was not successful.
Lender sought foreclosure sale
American AgCredit issued default notices, followed by a foreclosure sale notice on July 23, 2026.
Signorello Estate will seek to obtain debtor-in-possession financing from two high-net worth individuals who also plan to submit a stalking-horse bid to purchase the debtor’s assets in a bankruptcy sale to continue the winery business and preserve jobs.
The debtor’s largest unsecured creditors include G3 Enterprises Inc., owed over $87,000; LCBO, owed over $59,000; Woodside Electronics Corp., owed over $29,000; Tonnellerie Sylvain-EU, owed over $19,000; and Murphy Logan & Roades-Brown, owed over $17,000.
Adults drinking less alcohol
Wineries continue to suffer from a national trend of American adults drinking less alcohol, as a Gallup Poll survey found for the second year in a row in 2026 that 54% of U.S. adults ages 18 and over drink alcohol, matching the all-time low from 2025, which was the lowest number since 1939.
The share of American drinkers has fallen sharply since 2022 when 67% of U.S. adults drank alcohol, according to Gallup’s Consumption Habits survey.
At least 60% of Americans reported drinking alcohol in surveys from 1997 to 2023, with 62% saying they consumed alcohol in 2023. American consumption declined to 58% in 2024 before falling further to 54% in 2025.
The lowest American alcohol consumption level before 2025 was recorded in 1958 at 55%. The highest levels recorded between 68% and 71% were all recorded from 1974 to 1981, with the highest in 1978 at 71%.
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