(PD) - E&J Gallo Winery’s purchase of Stagecoach Vineyards in the Napa Valley sent a shock wave through the North Coast wine industry. The sale pulled 600 prime cabernet sauvignon acres off the market and triggered a new vineyard buying spree that some say will over time have implications for the very structure of the wine industry.

Consolidation and corporate structuring have been going on for years in America’s most lucrative grape growing region, with large players and wealthy investors looking to buy parcels or expand portfolios along Highway 29. After all, the thinking goes, if an icon like Robert Mondavi could be forced to sell his winery, as he did Constellation Brands Inc. in 2004 when he was cash-strapped, it could happen to almost anyone, especially if family succession plans go awry.

But there is something about this deal, which according to one industry expert is likely worth well more than $300 million, that has many in the local industry reevaluating their business plans.