Pa. winery owner looking for someone who can continue producing our popular wines into the future

Cullari Vineyard & Winery, in Hershey, Pennsylvania, is officially up for sale. Owner Sal Cullari, 74, wrote this week in a statement that “after 20 years of operating a vineyard/winery in Hershey and various tasting rooms, it will be necessary for me to retire.” He continued: “Unfortunately, my age has caught up with me and I don’t have any close relatives nearby to replace me. Therefore, I have decided to put my business up for sale so that potentially someone can continue producing our popular wines into the future. The ideal buyer is an existing farm looking to instantly expand into a Pennsylvania wine market or vineyard, an existing wedding/event establishment wishing to expand with an established licensed winery, or an entrepreneur. My Pennsylvania Limited Winery License is suitable for anyone in Pennsylvania, but given my customer base, optimal locations are Lebanon, Lancaster or Dauphin counties. The sale would include a transferable PA winery license, winery equipment, two functional tasting rooms (Lititz and Farmstead Farmer’s Market) and all wine-related inventory. The license includes the right to open five direct-to-consumer satellite tasting rooms/retail locations across Pennsylvania and self-distribute directly to consumers. However, my existing physical winery and vineyard in Hershey is not part of the sale. Anyone interested in getting more information can contact me directly at 717-571-2376.” The sale price is negotiable, Cullari said. A home winemaker while maintaining his full-time job as chairman of the department of psychology at Lebanon Valley College, Cullari left academics at age 52 and eventually opened the winery in 2007. “After 9/11, I just, I don’t know, for some reason, it just kind of changed me and I just thought there would be other things to do rather than teaching for the rest of my life,” he said in a May interview. Over the next couple of decades, his winery would build a loyal following as the first one to be located in Hershey, at 1251 E. Chocolate Ave., what he called the perfect location. “We were getting people from Hersheypark, we were getting people from the Giant Center, getting people going to concerts. Plus we had been there 15 years, so we were getting a lot of regular customers stopping literally every day for our wine,” he said. What ultimately changed for the Calabria, Italy, native, who sources from a small vineyard he planted in 2000 at his home and also from other locations in Pennsylvania and adjoining states (it qualifies as a PA Preferred business) was losing that location when the landlord decided in 2023 to bring in an ice cream shop. “We really took a hit,” he said. The winery presently sells from its locations at in Bricker Village, 2 E. 28th Division Highway, Lititz, which is open six days a week, and at the Farmstead Farmers Market, 1976 Laudermilch Road, Palmyra., on Fridays and Saturdays. Cullari has 35 wines on his list, including Coco Nostra, a chocolate wine that couldn’t be more appropriate for the Hershey area. That one has been the producer’s top seller for almost 15 years. “Most of our best-selling wines are all unique,” he said. “They’re formula wines. So those would be part of the package.” Cullari said last year he sold around 20,000 bottles. ALSO READ Finger Lakes winemaker ending one long, successful stint and heading to his ‘dream job’ GoFundMe established for Penn State Extension professor of viticulture Finger Lakes couple nurturing brand of wines that ‘don’t really check a box but are all about joy’