"A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking about real money"*

Is one winery worth that much dough?.

The big news in the California wine industry this week is the acquisition of Daou Vineyards by Melbourne-based Treasury Wine Estates for $900 million, plus $100 million in incentives. The sale included the brand, the Daou Mountain Estate hospitality site, four boutique luxury wines and some 400 acres of vines in Paso Robles’ Adelaida District. A billion smackeroos may be a rounding up decimal for the federal government, but it’s stupendous, indeed unnerving, for a winery purchase.