Vintage Wine Estates Acquires ACE Cider
INCLINE VILLAGE, Nevada – Vintage Wine Estates, one of the fastest-growing wine producers in the U.S. with an industry leading direct-to-customer platform, today announced the acquisition of ACE Cider, The California Cider Company, which is expected to close November 16, 2021. The first family-owned cider company in the U.S. and among the fastest growing craft cider brands in the country, ACE produces nearly 90,000 barrels of cider annually.
“This strategic acquisition adds an innovative product line to our RTD (ready-to-drink) category and brings us access to a significant new sales channel for distribution, through which we expect we can push many of our brands,” commented Pat Roney, VWE CEO. “ACE is an excellent complement to our wine portfolio and its products are distributed through the beer channel which provides a new growth opportunity for all of our RTD products. Importantly, this provides another platform from which we can expand by executing our strategy of consolidating highly fragmented offerings where we can leverage our production and marketing expertise to gain market share, capture more customers and increase volume.”
President and Founder Jeffrey House and his family have been producing premium, craft hard cider since 1993. ACE is located in Sebastopol, California, near the heart of Sonoma County, a region renowned for its winemaking and premium apple orchards. ACE has a diverse and balanced product portfolio with award-winning, fruit-forward ciders featuring no artificial ingredients, less calories and significantly less sugar (no added sugar) than the average hard cider—a compelling step up for hard seltzer consumers. ACE Pineapple is the world’s original pineapple cider and is the #1 selling fruit flavored cider in the U.S. ACE hard ciders are certified gluten-free and vegan.
The transaction will add over one million cases to VWE’s annual sales volume. ACE currently has annual revenue of over $20 million and has achieved a double-digit compound annual growth rate over the last five years.
Originally from England, which enjoys a longstanding and vibrant hard cider culture, founders Jeffrey and Angela House had a vision to bring that culture to America and build the American hard cider industry. Mr. House established himself in the American beer and cider industry until the founding of ACE Cider in 1993 as California’s original hard cidery. Mr. House, sons Jason House, VP Production & Operations and Simon House, VP Sales & Marketing, will continue their involvement in ACE.
About ACE Cider
ACE Cider was founded in 1993 by Jeffrey and Angela House in Sebastopol, Sonoma County as the first California hard cider producer, to bring the hard cider culture of their native home, England, to the American consumer. Today, ACE is the top independently owned hard cider brand in the U.S. with an award-winning portfolio of fruit-forward hard ciders featuring lower alcohol, no added sugar and a commitment to the craft and spirit of the hard cider tradition. https://acecider.com
About Vintage Wine Estates, Inc.
Vintage Wine Estates is a family of wineries and wines whose mission is to produce the finest quality wines and provide incredible customer experiences with wineries throughout Napa, Sonoma, California’s Central Coast, Oregon and Washington State. Since its founding 20 years ago, the Company has grown to be the 15th largest wine producer in the U.S. selling more than two million nine-liter equivalent cases annually. To consistently drive growth, the Company curates, creates, stewards and markets its many brands and services to customers and end consumers via a balanced omni-channel strategy encompassing direct-to-consumer, wholesale and exclusive brand arrangements with national retailers. While VWE is diverse across price points and varietals with over 50 brands ranging from $10 to $150 at retail, its primary focus is on the fastest growing premium segment of the wine industry with the majority of brands selling in the $10 to $20 price range. The Company regularly posts updates and additional information at www.vintagewineestates.com.
