The Tasting Panel magazine

December 2014

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50  /  the tasting panel  /  december 2014 E ven after four decades in the wine industry, the patriarch of one of California's largest and longest-standing grape-growing operations, Scheid Vineyards, is still first and foremost a finance guy. "I didn't know anything about wine grapes, but we were talking 18, 20 percent returns. It wasn't too difficult a decision," says Al Scheid about his origins in the wine industry. As an investment banker seeking tax shelter, Al and three-dozen partners identified Monterey County as a lucrative place to purchase land, plant vineyards, write off the development and sell for a big capital gain. "Before the dust cleared in the next five or six years, we'd planted about 6,000 acres, done all in partnerships so everyone could get their tax benefits." In ten years, though, many of those partners wanted to retire and sell, even as Monterey County started earning a reputation for high-quality wine grapes. "By that time, I wanted to own those vineyards outright," says Al, "so we started buying out partners." Scheid Vineyards: IT TAKES BUSINESS ACUMEN TO RUN A SUCCESSFUL WINERY by Jaime Lewis / photos by Jeremy Ball

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