Napa's 50-Year-Old Signorello Estate Faces Foreclosure After $37 Million Debt

The Signorello Estate, a Napa winery founded by Ray Signorello’s father when he was 14, was the first property destroyed by the 2017 Atlas Fire, losing its facilities and home but sparing its historic vines. Rebuilding took seven years, delayed by permitting issues, the pandemic, and soaring construction costs, ultimately costing north of $30 million—double the original estimate. Despite reopening in June 2024 with high-tech equipment, the winery’s sales have slumped amid a global wine downturn, tariff-related losses, and a 2020 wildfire that wiped out its red grape crop.

Debt to American AgCredit has risen from an initial $10 million loan in 2018 to $37 million, with interest climbing from 4.75% to 12.6% and missed payments prompting lender pressure. Efforts to secure an investor through BMO Capital Markets, a $20 million stalking-horse offer, and a short-lived bankruptcy filing have not averted the scheduled auction, threatening the loss of ten jobs and a half-century family legacy.