‘Sideways’ Era Pinot Star Calls It Quits: Report

HEALDSBURG, CA — A pioneering Russian River Valley Pinot Noir producer that rose to prominence during the mid-2000s wine boom is ending production, citing industry shifts and rising costs.

Arista Winery, a beloved Healdsburg label that helped define Sonoma County’s Pinot Noir renaissance, will cease winemaking after its 2024 vintage, the family announced.

"After 30 years of growing grapes and making wine, we have made the decision that the 2024 vintage will be our final vintage of Arista wines produced and released."

The closure comes amid a historic downturn in the wine industry that has disproportionately affected small producers that are absorbing the blows from softer consumer demand and a retrenchment by large over-leveraged operators. Many like Arista — a 6,000-case-a-year operation best known for its Russian River Valley Pinot Noir— are deciding that this is a good time to exit the business in order to minimize losses.

"The wine world is changing, and while we have great confidence that Sonoma County will remain one of the premier wine regions of the world — and that great growers and producers will always endure — the realities of today’s market makes it increasingly difficult for a small, family-run winery to continue consistently offering the calibers of wines we are known for," brothers Ben and Mark McWilliams said in a letter on the company's website.

“The industry is shifting,” Mark McWilliams said, explaining that he and his brother, co-owner Ben McWilliams, made “real family decisions about where we invest our time and money,” according to the Chronicle.

Signs of transition surfaced last year when the McWilliams family sold Arista’s longtime winery and estate vineyard on Westside Road for a reported $25.35 million. The brothers kept the brand and planned to make the Arista wines elsewhere.

The brothers are now turning to their real estate development business that they have operated for the past 15 years, according to the Chronicle.

The McWilliams family entered Sonoma County winegrowing in 1996, initially farming Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc in Alexander Valley before founding Arista Winery in 2002. The move to the cooler Russian River Valley coincided with a national surge in Pinot Noir popularity following the 2004 film Sideways. Arista went on to earn significant critical acclaim, including high marks from Wine Spectator.

While production is at an end, Arista is not closing its doors immediately. The winery is currently releasing its 2024 vintage and planning the details of their special events for 2026, celebrating the farewell chapter. Details will be posted on their Member Events page.