Two of America's family owned and operated wineries jointly announced that Foley Family Wines, Santa Rosa, Calif., has purchased Oregon's Acrobat wine brand from King Estate Winery, Eugene, Ore.

The two families think that this transaction will be vital for the growing Oregon wine industry, they state. The Acrobat brand is best known for producing Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris varietal wines that showcase the complexity of Oregon's emerging wine growing regions, they add.

“As Foley Family Wines continues down the path of becoming one of the industry's top ultra-premium wine purveyors, the addition of the Acrobat brand addresses the strategy of expanding our offerings from the emerging and rapidly growing region of Oregon,” said Hugh Reimers, president of Foley Family Wines, in a statement. “Acrobat Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris will serve as a nice complement to The Four Graces, which has quickly become one of Oregon's top selling ultra-premium Pinot Noir brands in the marketplace. We look forward to working closely with wholesale and customer partners to build on the success of both the Acrobat and The Four Graces brand in the retail and on-premise channels."

Bill Foley, founder and chief executive officer of Foley Family Wines added: "I have great admiration for Ed King, his family and the entire King Estate organization. I am honored that Ed has entrusted Foley Family Wines with the gem that is the Acrobat brand.”

Under King Estate's guidance, the Acrobat brand has consistently garnered industry acclaim for the quality of its wines and represents one of Oregon's largest wine brands, the companies say. King Estate will remain independently owned by the King family and continues to be Oregon's largest family owned estate winery.

"It is with great pride that I transition the Acrobat brand to Foley Family Wines, a well‑respected family owned wine company that has been one of the greatest success stories in the industry," said Ed King, chief executive officer of King Estate, in a statement. "Reflection on the part of the King family led to the realization that we want to reaffirm our foundation family brand, and that King Estate needs to be the centerpiece of our future. We have been on our land in Oregon for almost 30 years. Our recent entry into the Willamette Valley AVA and certification as North America's largest Biodynamic vineyard bring our focus back to King Estate. Acrobat exceeded all expectations of success for us and really belongs in a growing family of brands like Foley Family Wines."

Zepponi & Co. served as the exclusive financial adviser to the owners of King Estate in their sale of the Acrobat brand.