Burbank Ranch, a nine-year-old winery in Paso Robles, will be sold at auction on June 17 after failing to attract private buyers with a list price of $18 million.

It is possible that a buyer might do better with the Burbank Ranch business than founders Fred and Melody Burbank. There's at least one good precedent: the single most-sold wine in America, Charles Shaw, was a brand bought at a bankruptcy auction by Fred Franzia.

But Trump Winery is a better economic model. Kluge Estate in Virginia was an overly ambitious winery with a beautiful tasting room and an unsustainable business plan. It never made sense financially for the Kluges, who plowed in all the development money. But for the Trumps, who could buy it at a deep discount after it was already built, it was a solid investment, especially given the popular appeal of the label now.