Accolade Wines’ Purchase of California Wine Brand Assets

Accolade Wines’ Purchase of California Wine Brand Assets

Dickenson, Peatman & Fogarty acts as lead legal advisers in the U.S. for Australia’s Accolade Wines.  DP&F first served as legal counsel to Accolade Wines in its purchase of California’s Geyser Peak, XYZin, and Atlas Peak brands, advising on a broad range of issues including acquisition, business structure, alcohol beverage licensing, land use, employment, and intellectual property.

Accolade Wines is Australia’s largest wine company based on total production and is the owner of brands from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Europe, South America and the U.S.  However, at the time the group was formed in early 2011, Accolade’s portfolio had no U.S. brands focused on the U.S. domestic market.  Accolade’s management understood that its growth and success required better access to U.S. consumers, and it began exploring opportunities to enter the market with its own U.S. brand offering and establishing a U.S. presence for it’s other brands.  Accolade identified three well-recognized California wine brands  that had the potential to help it launch its U.S.-based operations:  Geyser Peak, Atlas Peak, and XYZin.

DP&F’s attorneys conducted extensive due diligence prior to Accolade’s acquisition of these three brands and the related assets.  This included:

  1. OPERATIONS:  ensuring that Accolade could obtain all necessary state and federal alcohol beverage licenses and permits to conduct business in the U.S.;
  2. PRODUCTION:  securing vineyard sources and access to the winery facilities for the continued production of wine;
  3. DISTRIBUTION:  reviewing distribution agreements;
  4. MARKETING:  protecting the intellectual property assets of the target wine brands both in the U.S. and abroad; and
  5. EMPLOYMENT: advising on the retention and transition of employees from the seller to Accolade.

DP&F also represented Accolade in all legal aspects of negotiation of the acquisition including the drafting of the Asset Purchase Agreement and other related legal documents.

DP&F is proud to have served Accolade in its continued international growth and remains as Accolade’s principal U.S. counsel.