One year after Arista Winery, a Russian River Pinot Noir and Chardonnay specialist, sold its 36-acre estate and winery, the owners have announced the brand is winding down as well. The 2024 vintage will be its last. The announcement was made directly to customers and on social media.
Mark McWilliams, who co-managed Arista with his brother, Ben, says that the family initially didn’t want to draw attention to the news. “We weren’t trying to make a story,” McWilliams told Wine Spectator. “It’s just a family decision. But we have been overwhelmed by the response and people’s kind notes. We don’t want this to be construed as part of a bigger story or anything like that. It’s just my family making a decision.”
A Russian River Valley Gem
Al and Janis McWilliams founded Arista Winery in 2002, specializing in wines from Russian River Valley. Their first commercial release was in 2003. In 2012, sons Mark and Ben took over day-to-day operations, refining the brand’s focus on small-lot Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays. They built a home on a 36-acre property, including a hospitality center, a winery built in 2018, seven acres planted to Pinot Noir and one acre planted to Chardonnay, while also producing wines from some of Sonoma’s top vineyards.
Matt Courtney joined as winemaker in 2013, and under his direction the wines became among the best examples of single vineyard and regional Russian River Valley wines.
The winery’s future began to shift five years ago. McWilliams explains that in 2021, his parents approached him with their plans to downsize in 2025, when his father turned 80. “They wanted to simplify their life,” explained McWilliams. “They’re in good health, but the estate was a lot for them to deal with.”
Mark and his brother discussed their options, including whether the brothers could continue to manage the estate on their own. In the end, they decided selling the physical property while keeping the brand going would make the most financial sense. “My brother and I genuinely wanted my parents to get the most that they possibly could for [the property].”
[article-img-container][src=2026-01/ns_arista-deal-mcwilliams-courtney-022825_1600.jpg] [credit= (Courtesy Arista)] [alt= Ben and Mark McWilliams and Matt Courtney, left to right, at Arista.] [end: article-img-container]
Too Many Hurdles
In Feb. 2025, Arista sold its estate on Westside Road to Chris Underwood, CEO of Young’s Holdings, Inc. No purchase price was disclosed. The Underwood family founded Young’s Market, now part of Republic National Distributing. Young’s Holdings also includes Wilson Daniels, a prominent wine importer and distributor, as well as Infinium Spirits, a leading spirits sales and marketing company. Underwood announced plans to base his wine brand, Harper’s Rest, at the winery, while allowing Arista to continue production there.
At the time of the sale, the McWilliams brothers had every intention of continuing the Arista brand with a simplified model—no property or hospitality to manage. But McWilliams admits that they hadn’t fully contemplated that they would need to reinvent the brand. “People knew who we were, but we realized we needed to redefine our physical space. Who are we? Where are we?” he explained.
The landscape of the wine industry was also in the back of their minds, but McWilliams insists they do not want to be a poster child for troubled times in wine. “It is a tough spot, and there is some reckoning that needs to happen, but the industry is going to be fine. There are great producers and great growers. It’s just an unprecedented correction that we’re going through. That’s obviously an element.”
The brothers realized that in their position, they’d need to either go into debt or take on partners to continue Arista. Neither of those options felt right to them. “We’ve poured a lot into this over the past 30 years, and giving that to somebody else was a hard thing, and it wasn’t something we ultimately were comfortable with,” said McWilliams.
The McWilliams also had another element to consider—their growing real estate development company, which has projects in California, South Carolina and Texas. Running two businesses in tandem had always been challenging, but at this inflection point, it made sense for them to focus on just one. McWilliams adds that he has four children heading toward college.
Late last summer, they made their decision. “We have been blessed beyond measure for the past 30 years to get to be a part of this community, to get to do what we’ve done, we do feel like we’ve added to the tapestry of this region. And we just kind of reach a point in life where we have to be selective about where we can allocate our time and our resources,” said McWilliams.
Saying Goodbye
The brothers are releasing their 2023 vintage wines as normal this year and their 2024s next year. There are plans to do more events on the road and in Sonoma to celebrate with their customers. “We want to make it celebratory, not like, ‘Man, this is so sad.’ Like it is sad, there’s an element of that, but we are absolutely at peace.”
He adds that he wants to give credit to the winemaking team of Matt Courtney and assistant winemaker Gordon Miller. “They have made some exceptional wines, and it’s just been such a joy to be the platform those guys really got to show their talent and passion.”
Courtney confirms he will be focusing on his own wine brand Ferren, as well as Volterre, Amici and other consulting projects. He will also be joining the Harper’s Rest team as consulting winemaker.
McWilliams understands that the family decision may be difficult to understand. “It’s so hard to explain to people, because it took a long time to make the decision, because we really had to measure twice,” he said. “This was done with so much peace and joy and gratitude for this industry and our community. This was for my family. This was the right decision at the right time. It has been a blessing to be part of this business.”
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