A West Richland winery that has sold most of its wine to an Italian wine producer for the past 15 years plans to liquidate its inventory over the coming months to pay back its creditors. 

Pacific Rim Winemakers Inc. filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Eastern District for New York at the end of March, along with two other affiliated wine businesses, according to court documents. It estimates its assets and debts at more than $10 million. 

The winery, located at 8111 Keene Road, primarily specialized in white wine and sold 90% of its inventory to Banfi Wines. Banfi is owned by the Mariani family whose members make up the shareholders of Pacific Rim’s holding company, G-4 Family Holdings. 

“Banfi Wines, as well as other wine sellers, has experienced a decrease in sales due to a sharp decline in wine consumption,” wrote Cristina Mariani-May, Pacific Rim’s vice president, in a statement to the court.  

She added that “the younger generation are drinking less wine and shifting to hard seltzers, canned cocktails, craft beer, cannabis and non-alcoholic drinks. Inflation, tariffs and oversupply have also hurt the wine industry. All have caused Banfi Wines to discontinue purchasing wine from Pacific Rim.” 

Pacific Rim’s labels include its eponymous Pacific Rim brand as well as Silver Raven, Thick Skinned and Rainstorm, the latter producing wines at a winery in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Banfi added Pacific Rim to its portfolio in 2010. Pacific Rim had six employees when the bankruptcy petition was filed, with an estimated weekly payroll of $50,000. 

BMO Bank and Hogue Ranches Management of Prosser hold liens totaling more than $450,000 against Pacific Rim, according to court documents.

Among the winery’s unsecured creditors are Benton County for unpaid taxes; several grape growers in the Mid-Columbia and Oregon; Benton Rural Electric Association; and the city of West Richland.  

Its largest creditor overall is Capital Agricultural Property Services, a California-based farm management company, which is owed more than $600,000. 

Mariani-May wrote in her statement that Pacific Rim’s owners “believe they will be able to recover substantially greater recovery for creditors than could be realized by Chapter 7 liquidation.”