I spoke to the winery administrator at AWG today. She said "things are different" now. As of the end of December, a new management team is in place. Evidently the original people (not sure of spelling), Mr. Draz, Mr. Perkins, and Mr Burns, are all out.
Mario Andretti, who prior to that time had evidently just agreed to license his name to the company, has now "taken on an active role" at the company. "Mario is very passionate" about the company, she said. "We're looking to the future" and are pursuing a "much more conservative approach to business" than compared to how things were run at AWG prior to when she arrived, in January. She said there's interest "in acquiring other properties or merging" but didn't elaborate.
She said the President and CEO of AWG is Mack Jennings. There are 5 members on the board, they meet monthly. The chairman of the board is a former chief exec from K-Mart. Andretti, still based out of Pennsylvania, is now Vice Chairman. The board asked for the books to be audited, and I'm told they're in the middle of an audit right now, and some attorney is involved as well. "I can't imagine a slower combination of attorney and accountant" she said, but expects there to be financial documents mailed to shareholders next month.
She says there's a 53 acre ranch, "mostly chardonnay grapes", and she told me that part of it was recently torn up and is in the process of being "replanted", with the replanting plan to be completed "by end of June".
She says they have gotten a "permit for public tours and tasting" which she says is a much-coveted, very political item in the Valley. She added that they didn't have a winery built yet, though.
The winemaker is Bob Peppy (sp?) -- she says "the existing inventory is selling very well."
Well, that's about it. Looking forward to getting some financial documents from them next month. |
