A lifelong obsession with wine and a keen interest in mountain geology first brought Bill and Bonnie Kehret to visit the Fair Play region of the Sierra Foothills in the early 2000s. In between building a successful high tech company in Silicon Valley and travelling the globe for business, Bill and Bonnie became regular visitors to El Dorado county for low-key wine getaways. In a fortuitous coincidence of timing, the old Mt. Aukum winery came up for sale just as Bill was retiring from the company he spent nearly 30 years building from scratch. Fascinated with the potential of the microclimate on top of Mt. Aukum, the well-drained granite soil, and the spectacular views from the winery, Bill and Bonnie purchased the property in 2018. They dreamed of transforming the site to a world-class winery for showcasing the unique characteristics of the region. The next year was spent completely renovating the facility and equipping the winemaking operation with the best modern equipment and technology available. Along with a small and dedicated team, they transformed the site into a world-class winemaking facility and set about renewing and expanding the estate vineyards. In April 2019, the newly renovated tasting room at Kehret Vineyards reopened. After much anticipation, the first Kehret Vineyards wines were released in October 2019. Unfortunately this past September, Bill passed away. His estate and the designated trustees have decided that best course of action is to sell the property and the winery. This is an absolutely outstanding opportunity to acquire an estate winery high up the mountain at 2650 ft above sea level, the highest elevation winery in the Shenandoah or Fair Play appellations. In 2020, Steve Leveque joined the KV team as the Master Winemaker. He has transformed the way wine is made in the Fair Play region, bringing a rich history of viticulture and world class winemaking techniques to the Sierra Foothills. Steve’s resume of achievements has propelled him to become one of California’s most renowned winemakers. Born and raised in the Napa Valley, Steve has earned a reputation for expertly crafting wines that reflect the purity and identity of his vineyards. His list of winemaking work reads like a who’s who of the wine world: HALL, Chalk Hill, Opus One, Mondavi. Steve has earned three 100 Point scores from Wine Advocate, two 100 Point scores from Jeb Dunnuck and the #2 Wine in the World from Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of 2011. Over 80 of Steve’s wines have been rated 99-95 Points from the elite wine publications. This is the culmination of years of experience centered on risk taking, experimentation, collaboration and a steadfast commitment to excellence. The best part of this sale is that the two most recent vintages of Steve's wines are in shiners and available for purchase by the new owner so that you can hit the ground running. Steve would love to stay on with the property and continue to make wines from what he considers to be one of the best viticulture sites in all of the Sierra Foothills. The property itself is stunning with views from the Pacific Crest of the Sierra Nevadas in the East all the way to Mt Diablo in the Bay Area to the west. Bill put millions of dollars into the winery building... All of the equipment is virtually brand new and the winery itself is sparkling clean. The winery building checks in at over 6000 sq ft. and there is room to put an apartment in the upstairs of the facility should one desire. Features of the property include: * Award winning winemaker ready to continue to make wines of distinction from this unique site. * Majority of two vintages of wine in shiner and available for your brand concept and immediate launch. * State of the art wine making facility with essentially brand new equipment. Millions of dollars were spent on the build on, so no additional capital is needed. * Deep well with lots of water storage * +/- 7 acres of vineyards planted to a diverse variety of grapes producing exceptional estate wines * Stunning views over the entirety of Northern California * Road leading to the winery has been partially replaced Note that the price includes the land, vineyards, winery building and all equipment. wines are to be sold separately. Please contact Tony Westfall at ESGI for additional information.