Santa Lucia pioneer Talbott Vineyards sells to Gallo.

[Clarification: The tasting room is owned by the Georis Winery-Cowgirl dynasty, so it's a lease that Gallo takes over there; a lease is also likely in place at Diamond T because Robb Talbott lives on the property. Stay tuned for more, including the sale price.]

Insiders knew Talbott Vineyards and its related assets had been on the market for months.

(Those assets include the gorgeous tasting room in Carmel Valley Village, Diamond T Vineyard in Cachagua—though so far west it's actually in the Monterey AVA—and the storied Sleepy Hollow Vineyard in Santa Lucia Highlands.) 

So news of a sale isn't much of a surprise, even if Talbott's brand is doing very well and the family names on many of the wines reflect a deep affinity for the craft.

The fact that Talbott sold to corporate behemoth E. & J. Gallo Winery, the largest family-owned wine company anywhere, is a little surprising.

From locally sown and family-owned to piece of a huge conglomerate brew.

But maybe it shouldn't be.

After all, it's a long ways from 1982 when Robb Talbott established estate-grown Pinot Noir and Chardonnay programs, and it's been Robb Talbott, Incorporated, in name and spirit, for a while, with farming and winemaking expanding precipitously.

Here was Talbott's statement: 

Our family is proud of our pioneering role in Monterey County winemaking and viticulture over the last thirty plus years and in building the Talbott Vineyards reputation for outstanding Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Beginning in the mid 1990s, we sold grapes from our Sleepy Hollow Vineyard to the Gallo family and we are delighted to have now found the right way to transition the ownership of our vineyards and winery to another family in the wine business who will build on the Talbott reputation for quality.

My family and I are grateful to all those who have been part of the journey, from our employees, to our nationwide distributors and their accounts. We never could have built this wonderful Company without them.

Terms of the transaction remain undisclosed, but I'll track down a sale price after the deal closes Friday, Sept. 4.

Employees I talked to on the ground say there hasn't been much movement from new management.

They were called into the great room at the winery, told of the sale and that they'd need to reapply through the Gallo hiring process and be rehired to remain on board.

"We're halfway through harvest," says Enologist Rob Karlsen, son of longtime Talbott winemaker Dan, who will continue as a consulting winemaker. "They said, 'Don't change anything.' Keep doing what you're doing."