Ok, we’re kidding! We obviously went for the wine, but since the last time we were there Fiji Water has acquired Justin Vineyards.
Want the scoop? The following is from Wine Spectator- “The sale includes the Justin winery and brand and more than 80 acres of estate vineyards. It also includes the winery’s lodging, the Just Inn Bed & Breakfast, and Deborah’s Room, a small restaurant with a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for its wine list. The sale price was not disclosed.”
We wanted to see if there had been any visible changes, and mmmm, nope, none. It still appeared to be biz as usual. We will address one thing; we’ve heard several times that the tasting room is pretentious or snobby but we disagree. This was our second time there in the last couple years, and both times we were treated very well, especially this last time, the staff was terrific. No complaints here!
Side note, we loved how the tasting room had all the social media icons in their tasting menu as well. They also had an article about social media in their little magazine, the Justin Times. Congrats to their marketing team for understanding the importance of blogging and social media, cheers!!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg8AEcVDTdg[/youtube]
Related articles
- FIJI Water Announces Acquisition of JUSTIN Vineyards & Winery (prnewswire.com)
- Billionaire Resnicks Pick Up Justin Winery (luxist.com)
- New Owner for Justin Vineyards (vinessetoday.com)
I hope your right about JUSTIN’s reputation, it seems when a corporation buys a family own business all they think about is their profit and then the business goes downhill from there. But that’s my opinion, because the company I worked for was family owned for 100+ years until they sold it to a big corporation and everything changed, now after five years it’s up for sale again. Let’s hope and pray that JUSTIN keeps the family friendly atmosphere, or they will lose some customers….just sayin. Cheers!
Hey Bev, we understand your concerns…and we’ll be sure to keep an eye on them! They’ve got a pretty good thing going out there, so it would be in their best interest to keep things business as usual!
I was really sorry when I heard that Justin had been sold. When I talked to Justin he said it was just too good of a deal for the family. I wish him and Deborah well. They really were great assets and promoters of the Paso wine community, and they will be missed.
Hey Gary, we’ve heard a lot of good things about the family, and am sure they couldn’t stray too far from the Paso wine community…it’s a pretty cool group of people!
This is Hoot, Gary I heard the Baldwins were staying on to help with the brand etc., not sure what that really means though.
just saw the video,,,, good, great place,great wine,,, been members for 5 or so years,,, favorite person there is Glenn Mitton,, he makes everything magical,,, i bring friends, girlfriends, i am talking a bus load , and all is well,,, it is and will always be in my mind, a great and well worth the drive adventure,,,, i heard about the sell out in Napa while we were there Va ca–ing… seems like all the employee’s are ok and happy to be there still… i have no problem giving up my wine clubs, just…. ha ha this one is gonna stay…. kudos to gary eblerly for wishing them well…. lolz the lindz.
Hey Lindz! Thanks for all the info…we agree that it’s a great place to go hang out and the wines and views and food are all totally worth the drive! We know Glenn, and happen to think he’s awesome, too! (wow, more stuff we have in common with you!) Anyhooo, glad you love the place, it’s definitely a keeper!
Really?! OMG! I had no idea. Peter & I were just out there.
We visited the winery, stayed at the Just Inn & ate at Deborah’s Room.
(Yeah, we did the went the whole nine yards.)
It was an amazing experience. I hope that nothing changes with the alteration of ownership.
Thanks for the update you two!
Cheers,
Allie
http://www.mywinewords.com
Hey Allie! Yeah…crazy, huh? Isn’t the restaurant amazing? We had lunch there one time and were really impressed with it! They definitely have their “thing” down…so hopefully they recognize that’s the reason people are so entranced with the place. We’ll be sure to do our “research” and keep an eye on them! Oh, and BTW…next time you’re in town let us buy you a drink!!! Cheers!
I am just selfish in that Justin and Deborah have been such great promoters of Paso wines, and I’m afraid that their sale will mean less promotion on their part. I think it would be only natural for them to slow down a little. They have worked tirelessly for a couple of decades now, and should slow down for their own sakes, but as I said selfishly it means two less great Paso promoters out there spreading the gospel. I really wish them well and hope they stay on the road.
It’s okay to be selfish sometimes, Gary! Well, we think so…especially when it involves the promotion of Paso wines! Cheers to them and all the great work they’ve done to bring attention and notoriety to our area!
I went there recently, and I agree that they weren’t pretentious at all in the tasting room. The branding – ISOSCELES, SAVANT, etc. – kind of is. Also, their whole motto on the corks is extremely corny. Here’s a photo: http://www.thefreewineblog.com/2011/12/just-stupid.html
Hey S.P., thanks for the comment. We had a great time at Justin and definitely didn’t think they were pretentious. The wines are good and they definitely have their marketing gig down…great tasting room and beautiful scene. We checked out your post, and wondered if you thought it was actually pretentious, or not? I know there are some mixed opinions out there! Cheers!