(SonomaNews) - The announcement June 8 that Benziger Family Winery had been sold to the Wine Group, a Livermore-based corporation founded by Art Ciocca, was seen by Sonoma Valley wine lovers as a major blow to the independent winery business model. Yet Mike Benziger, until Monday the CEO of the company he founded in 1981 with his father, Bruno Benziger, was enthusiastic and positive about the move when he spoke with the Index Tribune just hours after the sale was announced.

Here’s our conversation with former Benziger CEO Mike Benziger:

This is quite surprising news for local wine professionals, but it’s got to be a big change for you personally. How are you feeling about this sale?

I’m just kind of processing what it all means for me; it’s kind of up and down, bittersweet.

My property overlooks the winery property I’ve been looking at for 34 years, owning as a family member, and now I’m going to be looking at it with another person owning it. So it won’t be easy, but it’s in the hands of people that really love this place and are super enthusiastic about maintaining it.

The winery grounds are a major destination in Sonoma Valley, and the wine tour is probably the best in the county. Are the new owners aware of what they bought here?

That’s the reason they bought the place, to be honest with you. This is what they told me, and I’ve been with the Wine Group enough; I believe them. They pursued this place, first, because of the culture, and second because they really love the wines, and third because they really believed in the message that we had. That message was going to be very relevant in the future.

I think they saw that there’s still an incredible amount of opportunity and potential that’s left in this brand, because of the employees that we have, and the connection we have with the consumer. And I think it’s going to be good for the Valley, I really do – they’re going to bring a whole new level of energy, and invest in very smart ways that I think is going to be a good fit for the Valley.

The Wine Group also ended up with the Glen Ellen brand, which you sold in 1993. Is that a coincidence?

Oh, it’s more than that. Art Ciocca, who started the Wine Group, was born in a town only five miles from me, we both graduated from the same high school, we both graduated from the same college; we both hitchhiked or drove to California with a dream; he started the Wine Group in 1981, we started Glen Ellen in 1981. It’s an interesting story for sure.