Large landmark Carmel Valley winery Chateau Julien sells for $12 million, will become new winery.

One of the most iconic wineries in the area has a new owner and a new name.

Chateau Julien recently sold its vineyard, winery, bottling plant, farmhouse, estate residence, land and equipment to Folktale LLC for $12 million, but not the brand itself.

The project took more than a year to come to fruition, according to Greg Ahn, majority owner of Folktale, and Mahoney & Associates, who brokered the deal.

“This was a natural extension of our existing wine business,” Ahn says. “Developing our direct-to-consumer business with a tasting room and special event venue was part of the future plan and once we looked at this property's unique location and assets, we decided to work with Mahoney & Associates to approach the owner and make an unsolicited offer.”

The name was not part of the game.

“The Chateau Julien brand was something the family wanted to keep growing, and we were excited to make it our own," Ahn says. "We’re spending the next few weeks reimagining the public spaces and giving it a new personality."

He predicts a soft re-opening in early July, with substantial renovations continuing throughout the year.

Ahn’s portfolio wine company is Silicon Valley-based Alcohol By Volume and has enjoyed enough expansion to earn a spot on Inc. Magazine's 500 Fastest Growing Companies in America.

ABV will move production of their Monterey wines to the new Folktale Winery & Vineyard, while their North Coast wines will continue to be produced in Napa.

The Folktale label will launch with a 2013 vintage of Monterey Chardonnay and Monterey Pinot Noir. The tasting room will also pour and sell a limited selection of wines from the ABV portfolio until production is fully operational.

A press release reports Folktale will launch a sub-brand next spring, called Talking Animals.

The inspiration: “All the animals seem to talk in folktales,” Ahn says, noting the new brand will be aimed at putting a spotlight on some of the lesser known grapes that he believes are under-appreciated, with six different winemakers each making a wine based on what Ahn says "they find surprising or awesome about Monterey grapes."

"We’ll have six different stories representing the best in Monterey wines,” he says.