FAQs about the Estate Sale
1. Does the sale of the estate mean Arista is changing ownership? No, Arista Winery remains solely owned by brothers Mark and Ben McWilliams. They continue to oversee all aspects of the business and winemaking, ensuring the same dedication to quality and craftsmanship.
2. Who bought the Arista Winery estate property? The estate property on Westside Road was purchased by Young’s Holdings, the family holding company of the Underwood family. This sale is separate from Arista Winery’s ownership and does not impact our brand, winemaking operations, or distribution of Arista wines.
3. Why did Arista sell the estate property? The sale was driven by the estate planning of Arista’s founders, Al and Janis McWilliams, who decided to move to the East Coast to be closer to family. The sale allows Arista’s owners, Mark and Ben McWilliams, to strengthen their focus on winemaking and brand growth while maintaining financial strength for the winery’s future.
4. Will Arista continue to produce its wines? Yes. Arista Winery winemaking remains the same. We continue to produce our acclaimed Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with winemaker Matt Courtney leading production. Our wines are still being produced in the state-of-the-art winemaking facility built in 2018, and our focus on sourcing fruit from top-tier vineyards in the Russian River Valley remains unchanged.
5. How does this sale impact Arista’s wine availability? The only change is that our wines will no longer be offered through a tasting room at this time. Mark and Ben and Arista team members moved the administrative offices to downtown Healdsburg, and we are not yet ready to host visitors at the Arista Winery administrative offices.
There is no impact on the access to our single vineyard, and limited wines that our active A-List members have through the Member Portal. This member-only area of our website is where Arista’s limited-production wines will continue to be sold on a first-come, first-served basis to A-List members through our winter, spring and fall releases.
When we don't have a release open in the Member Portal, our wines are available in our online store. A-List Members always have access to all wines listed online. Those who are not yet on our mailing list (A-List) can purchase from a smaller list of wines listed online.
6. Will Arista still allow visitors to 7015 Westside Road? Effective February 28, 2025, Arista no longer hosts wine tastings or events at 7015 Westside Road. We are excited to let A-List Members know that we are continuing to host our popular and annual A-List member events at various idyllic locations in the Healdsburg vicinity in 2025. For those who don't know, our three annual events include our July Chardonnay Party, August Harvest Dinner and October Fall Party. A-List Members can read the details of each of these events and secure tickets using the A-List Events page of our website.
7. Will Arista offer opportunities to pick up my wine orders in Healdsburg? Yes, we offer weekly Friday appointments to pick up your online order you place from our downtown Healdsburg office. Once you place your online order as a "pickup", you can schedule your appointment using our reservations website. If you want to pick up your order and are unable to pick up on Fridays, reach out to us by calling (707) 473-0606 or texting (707) 840-4209 so we can work with you individually.
8. Will Arista continue working with the estate vineyards? While Arista no longer owns the estate vineyards, which accounted for only about 10% of Arista’s total wine production, we remain committed to working with our trusted grower partners, sourcing fruit from some of the most esteemed vineyards in the Russian River Valley, ensuring the continued production of exceptional wines. We continue to have long-term contracts with El Diablo Vineyard, Flora Marie Vineyard, Kanzler Vineyard, Mononi Vineyard, Ritchie Vineyard, Reuling Vineyard, UV Lucky Well Vineyard, UV Vineyard, and more.
9. Can I still purchase the Arista Estate wines? Absolutely! We currently have our available Estate Pinot listed in our online store for A-List Members to purchase. If you are not on the A-List at this time, we recommend you join list today. Once you join the list, you can immediately secure wines listed online that are only accessible to A-List Members.