An
Offer to Sell
Fitzpatrick
Winery & Lodge
The pioneer of Fair Play
Typically the first two questions to arise our “Why?” and “How much?” but their answers need at least a little introduction.
When we first moved up here in 1975, Fair Play was a rural island claimed by El Dorado County but known only by its handful of residents. Different than the rest of El Dorado County in many ways, one being our area code was 209 (that of Fresno). Back then, a random sampling of folks walking Main Street in Placerville (El Dorado’s county seat) would not even recognize the name Fair Play let alone know where it was. County officials at the time did not score much better either. Fair Play was beautiful rugged remote and undiscovered. The local economy reflected its isolation and offered little hope for its future other than the short term profit-taking of land subdivision.
Fair Play did have its days of glory as a prosperous Gold
Rush town, rural albeit but 
sporting
two hotels and numerous saloons. All that disappeared over a hundred years ago.
But the true wealth of Fair Play was to be rediscovered not from sifting
through its soil looking for gold but protecting its unique exceptionally deep
granitic sandy loam that has proven to produce world-class liquid gold from its
many varieties of wine grapes planted. And in less than three decades, starting
with the opening of our winery in 1980, Fair Play has grown to near 25
wineries, become an official American Viticultural Area Fair Play, and
welcomes thousands of visitors year
around to its tasting rooms, B&Bs, and restaurants and special events.
Fitzpatrick Winery & Lodge has played a leading role in the development of Fair Play’s wine and agro-tourism industries over three decades. The longevity and continuity of Fitzpatrick Winery & Lodge has created a respected reputation and several enduring traditions that both the local community and visitors continue to cherish and enjoy.
So
why sell now?
My wife Diana and I started working hard and relentlessly from the first day we landed in Fair Play. Despite the fact that our dreams exceeded our means, we challenged ourselves to stay the course and create a prosperous sustainable modern family farming operation. We never compromised our commitment to deliver to our customers wines made from organically grown grapes. We‘ve enjoyed a healthy rewarding lifestyle, raising our two girls Katie and Molly (now 24 and 22), and have sunk our roots deep into Fair Play. Fair Play will always be our home. But after 31 years its time and we almost forgot one of our youthful goals: Work Hard, Play Hard. And Diana and I are ready to Play Hard now while we still have good health and relative youthfulness.
Another reality demands our attention now rather than later. Since over time we chose to put every available dollar and hour into developing our family farm, our retirement plans have but two options: Our children take over the business and we benefit from the continued earnings or we sell to finance retirement. Since our girls have opted to pursue other livelihoods, selling becomes our chosen option but comes with its own tax implications. These tax implications can be mitigated with proper planning and carrying out an 8-year plan incorporating the property tax exchange rules. So the time is ripe for us to sell even though the success of Fair Play is just poised for increased prosperity and Fitzpatrick Winery & Lodge can continue to be a leader in that prosperity.
Well
then, how much?
Developing a price is a very difficult task and no matter what method you or a professional appraiser uses the price will ultimately be determined by the true meaning of market value – what a buyer is willing to pay. Our property is unique in its natural attributes and in its current uses. Finding comparable sales will be unlikely that in fairness match this property. And many assumptions would have to be made in an appraisal process.
The
most fundamental question determining value is what is the highest and best
use of the property?. We could
assume that its current use integrated as a vineyard, winery and B&B is
best, however in some eyes maybe a retreat serving a business or organization would be best,or
adding an exclusive spa to create a resort or quite possibly the best use is
that of an outrageous private residence. That fundamental question needs to be answered by
each individual buyer and its value determined accordingly. However as the
seller we had to determine what we’re willing to sell it for. Using a
combination of comparable sales to determine a range of value for the land,
vineyards and the million-dollar view was a start to which I added the cost
method to determine the value of the improvements. I’ll share with you an
inventory of real property improvements as well as equipment. And finally
affixing business value to over 25 years of goodwill and current product
inventory present a price for which we’re willing to sell (see additional
document).
The details of an actual sale will be developed to the mutual benefit of both buyer and seller with advice of each party’s respective tax accountant and lawyer. Cooperation will be important in consummating a sale. All information sharing and negociations will be conducted in strict confidentiality.
Our commitment to Organic Agriculture creates our desire to see the new owner continue to be USDA Certified Organic. We will offer an incentive of $100,000, redeemable at $10,000 annually to continue to farm and produce wines made from organically grown grapes.