The North Tustin neighborhood of Cowan Heights and other nearby hillside inland communities in Orange and Anaheim Hills can offer large lots and panoramic views, often at a fraction of the cost of what’s seen along the coast of Orange County.
Numerous higher-end listings in those areas now come in under $3 million.
One Cowan Heights offering, with an $8 million price tag, is bringing some coastal glitz—and a reason to toast.
The estate has several unique attributes to match the asking price. For one, the 9,226-square-foot home is on a 3.9-acre lot, reported to be the largest of its kind in Cowan Heights.
What’s more, the asking price includes a bonded winery on premises. The vineyards are adjacent to the home have produced Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Syrah wines under the Peppertree Canyon label since 2016.
Business Opportunity
Lynn Hess and Mike Jennings bought the estate in 2013 for $2.1 million, when the property included just the main house. They spent the next few years investing in a significant expansion of the property, adding a guest house, a multi-functional winery building, the vineyards and more than 100 olive trees, which are harvested each October for olive oil.
They didn’t have experience in the wine business prior to starting their operations. “We just enjoyed drinking wine,” Jennings said.
“We were looking for a home in wine areas like Paso Robles, before we found this opportunity in Orange County,” Hess told the Business Journal. “Why not do it ourselves?”
“We wanted to prove that Orange County could produce a really good wine.”
Peppertree Canyon is one of very few OC-based wineries that produce their wine on the premises. Their bottles retail online for about $50.
Buyers of the estate can also become stewards of the wine and olive oil business, or take a more hands-off approach and outsource the business by hiring one of the Peppertree Canyon managers to operate the company.
“The many advantages of owning a bonded winery as this amazing winery is self-operating and can be run as a ‘plug-and-play’ operation,” according to listing materials for the property.
Tuscan Inspiration
The couple intends to spend more time in Italy following the sale, with their primary residence in Nevada.
The main estate, first built in 1967 and renovated by Hess and Jennings, is inspired by farmhouses in Tuscany.
It counts five bedrooms and five bathrooms, with a spa outside the downstairs master bedroom. A saltwater pool is between the main estate and the one-bedroom, one-bathroom guest house.
On the southern portion of the property is a two-story winery building that includes production, bottling and storage components, as well as a tasting room, kitchen, bathroom, game room and indoor/outdoor theater.
Basketball and pickleball courts are off the main driveway, which is behind a private gate. There are also hiking trails that connect to Peters Canyon Regional Park.
Record Sale
A sale of nearly $8 million would be the second priciest on record for the area this year.
A sprawling, 26,345-square-foot resort-style estate on 25 acres sold for $14 million in March, marking the priciest sale on record for North Tustin.
