Gundlach Bundschu Winery near Sonoma has filed for bankruptcy and will stay open, according to court records and a statement from the family.

The winery calls itself California’s oldest continuously family-owned winery. It filed under Chapter 11, which lets a business stay open while it works out a plan to pay what it owes.

The company that owns the winery, Vineburg LLC, lists about $39.1 million in debts. It has about $17.2 million in property, cash and other assets, according to its filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California.

Most of the debt is backed by the winery’s property. American AgCredit, a Santa Rosa farm lender, is owed about $17.3 million, the Wednesday filing shows.

The filing also lists about $18.1 million owed to Sonoma Wine 2000 Denmark LLC, but the winery disputes that debt. That company’s mailing address is in care of an investment firm in Raleigh, North Carolina. It lists about $3.7 million more in debts that aren’t backed by property.

Jeff Bundschu, a sixth-generation family member, signed the filing as the company’s chief executive officer. He runs the business with his sister, Katie Bundschu.

“This is about creating a fair, court-supervised process that gives this historic business an opportunity to survive … and ensure the winery remains a meaningful part of the Sonoma Valley community.”
Jeff Bundschu, Gundlach Bundschu Winery CEO

In a statement sent out by a public relations firm, the family blamed a weak wine market and debt from a 2020 purchase made just before the COVID-19 pandemic. The company has cut costs by more than 40%, about $6 million, in the past three years, the statement said. It also turned down lenders’ offers to lend it more money at a high cost.

The family expects the case to end with a different ownership setup. It’s working with a possible new investor that it describes as a family organization. The statement didn’t name the investor.

“This is about creating a fair, court-supervised process that gives this historic business an opportunity to survive, preserve jobs, protect relationships with customers and vendors, and ensure the winery remains a meaningful part of the Sonoma Valley community,” Jeff Bundschu said in the statement.

The family’s ties to the land go back to 1858. The winery at 2000 Denmark St. will keep welcoming guests, serving wine club members and holding planned events during the case, the statement said.