Gundlach Bundschu Files Chapter 11, Ends 168-Year Family Era

California's oldest continuously family-owned winery filed for bankruptcy after a $37 million debt load and industry slump, with a new investor expected to take control.

The Bundschu Co., operator of Sonoma Valley's Gundlach Bundschu winery, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sept. 23, 2026, according to The Press Democrat. CEO Jeff Bundschu wrote in a legal declaration that the decision followed years of cost cuts, asset sales, family capital contributions and negotiations with lenders that failed to produce an out-of-court solution. The company carries roughly $37 million in debt between lenders Tiverton Advisors and American AgCredit, plus $1.7 million owed to vendors, per The Press Democrat. Negotiations are underway with a large, unspecified possible new investor, and the family expects to retain a minority stake. The winery remains open during restructuring.

The winery has worked the same Sonoma land continuously since 1858, surviving the 1906 earthquake and fire that wiped out nearly 1 million gallons of its wine, Prohibition, phylloxera and multiple recessions, as The Press Democrat recounts. After 168 years, ownership will change hands for the first time in six generations. The Press Democrat reports the company cut operating costs by more than 50% — about $7 million — over 18 months and shrank its workforce from 120 to 63, yet none of it staved off insolvency. The Press Democrat also notes the family sold property including its patrimonial home, rebuilt after the 2017 Nuns Fire.

Both outlets trace the debt hangover to February 2020, when the winery bought 60 acres off Madrone Road in Glen Ellen for $11.6 million to build out its Abbot's Passage label, run by Katie Bundschu Tynan. The Los Angeles Times reports the acquisition closed just a month before the pandemic hit, and CEO Jeff Bundschu wrote that the company 'expanded at precisely the wrong time.' The Press Democrat details the aftermath: lenders refused refinancing, Tiverton Advisors won a court-appointed receiver, Abbot's Passage retail sales ceased in July and the Glen Ellen facility closes in early October.

The filing is one of several in the North Bay this year, with The Press Democrat citing Robledo Family Winery and Signorello Estate. The Los Angeles Times adds broader pain: Gallo is closing a Napa facility and laying off more than 90 workers, Constellation Brands is cutting 212 jobs at Mission Bell, and Canadian boycotts crushed exports — McManis Family Vineyards' Canadian sales fell from 40% to 5% of export volume, per the Times. Silicon Valley Bank's Rob McMillan told The Press Democrat the industry should hit bottom next year or in 2028. The winery plans to stay open; Jeff Bundschu told the Times that visitors 'won't know a difference,' and the family may expand into music alongside wine.