J. Lohr Holding Its Ground Amid Tough Wine Market
J. Lohr has long ranked among California wine’s leaders in the accessibly priced premium segment. The family-owned winery, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, now owns some 4,000 acres of land, mostly in California’s Central Coast, but also further afoot in Napa Valley, with total production of 1.7 million cases. The J. Lohr Estates tier—at 1.4 million cases in 2024, according to Impact Databank—is among a handful of million-case brands retailing at above $15 in the U.S. market, and managed to hold roughly flat last year despite the tough conditions.
“There’s still a lot of opportunity in this industry, and there’s going to be a big shakeout, without a doubt,” CEO Steve Lohr says of the wine market. “It’s happening right now with wineries being sold on a regular basis, and there’ll be a lot more of those—but we won’t be one of them. We’re here for the long term.”
Among its recent moves, J. Lohr unveiled new packaging for its Ariel line of alcohol-free wines. The redesign features lighter-weight bottles, a new label, and a screwcap and is rolling out over the first quarter of this year. Ariel grew 10% to 81,000 cases in the U.S. last year, according to Impact Databank.
The bulk of J. Lohr’s volume is in the 1.4-million-case Estates tier, sourced exclusively from J. Lohr vineyards in Monterey County and Paso Robles. The lineup is led by Seven Oaks Cabernet, a Paso Robles-grown Cabernet Sauvignon that has reigned on and off as the top-selling appellation Cabernet in the $10-$20 segment by sales value, recently holding the No.-1 spot for 13 weeks last year, according to Nielsen. Riverstone Chardonnay is the Estates tier’s second-most popular wine and was repacked last year.
The company has also made inroads at the higher end with wines like its Vineyard Series ($22-$60 a 750-ml.), which has volume of around 50,000 cases. While Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay are predominant, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Grenache-based rosé, and a late harvest Riesling are also part of the Vineyard Series, which also includes J. Lohr’s sole Napa Cabernet, Carol’s Vineyard, sourced from a 31-acre vineyard named for founder Jerry Lohr’s late wife.
Other upscale wines in the portfolio include a Signature Cabernet Sauvignon ($100 a 750-ml.) from the company’s best Paso Robles plots; the Cuvee Series, a trio of red blends priced at $50; a Pure Paso proprietary red blend ($27), up 12% to 34,000 cases in 2024; and the Gesture line ($35-$45), a winery- and DTC-exclusive that focuses on Rhône varietals and blends.
Lohr says that while the winery has been approached by prospective buyers over the years, the family-owned company will remain independent. “We’re family owned, it’s the definition of who we are,” he says. “Invariably what happens when you sell your winery and somebody else starts trading on that good name that you spent decades building is that it may then water down the legacy, and take down the quality that you built your reputation on.”—Julia Higgins
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