A four-decade-old Malibu winery is shutting down after its Pacific Coast Highway tasting room was destroyed in the 2025 Palisades Fire. (Photo: Rosenthal – The Malibu Estate)
A four-decade-old Los Angeles County winery founded and operated by the Rosenthal family is winding down operations after a series of devastating setbacks, including the destruction of its primary tasting room in the 2025 Palisades wildfire. The winery’s Pacific Coast Highway tasting room was destroyed in the Palisades wildfire, which devastated parts of Los Angeles in 2025. The site remains fenced off and has been used as a staging and storage area during the extensive cleanup following the disaster, which destroyed more than 6,800 structures. The Rosenthal family is closing its Malibu winery after repeated wildfire losses, including the destruction of its tasting room in the 2025 Palisades Fire. (Photo: Rosenthal – The Malibu Estate) The Rosenthal family is better known in entertainment circles for its longtime Hollywood businesses, including Raleigh Studios and the Sunset Marquis hotel in West Hollywood. Rosenthal’s father, George Rosenthal, now 95, built a diversified business empire with interests ranging from real estate and file storage to private aviation. The hotel was also featured in the 2025 documentary If These Walls Could Rock. George entered the wine business in 1985, when he planted grapes in Malibu’s Newton Canyon. The vineyard has since grown into a 240-acre property.
Mark Rosenthal, who runs Rosenthal – The Malibu Estate, has decided to close the winery after years of fires, declining demand and mounting challenges facing the wine business, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The property was located on California state land under a lease, and Rosenthal says the government has not indicated when, or even whether, commercial tenants will be permitted to return. Raleigh Studios became a major independent soundstage operator, while the Sunset Marquis developed a legendary reputation as a celebrity haven, particularly among musicians. The vines produced their first vintage six years later. Mark Rosenthal described the setting as remarkable, comparing its atmosphere to Tuscany. The microclimate valley sits within the Santa Monica Mountains, an area where vineyards had been established before Prohibition. The region later received American Viticultural Area recognition, and the winery produced cabernet sauvignon, merlot, chardonnay and other varietals. The Palisades wildfire was not the first major disaster to affect the family’s wine business.
An earlier Rosenthal tasting room at the Beau Rivage restaurant was destroyed after the building caught fire in 2012. After 40 years, The Malibu Estate is winding down operations as the Rosenthal family looks to sell its 240-acre Newton Canyon vineyard. (Photo: Rosenthal – The Malibu Estate) Rather than rebuild the winery business elsewhere, Rosenthal is now looking to sell the Newton Canyon property. Rosenthal, who is turning 67, said he is moving toward what he described as a “family-office footprint. His transition away from some of the family’s entertainment holdings began in 2021, when he sold the Raleigh Studios soundstages to Hackman Capital Partners. Rosenthal also expects the main building to be completed by the 2028 Summer Olympics. September 26 will be the final day for a guided tasting at the vineyard.
Hackman Capital Partners has since faced financial difficulties involving lenders and lost control of several key holdings.
Reflecting on the repeated setbacks, Rosenthal told The Hollywood Reporter, “It’s been one catastrophe after another, and at some point it wears you down. He said the family took pride in putting its name on the wine and enjoyed building the business, but ultimately it remained a commercial operation. “Absent a significant distribution channel like the tasting room, it doesn’t make sense,” he said. Rosenthal said the family had considered opening another tasting room but decided against it. He said the property’s pastoral setting could make it suitable for a different use, suggesting it could potentially be converted into a luxury inn or rehabilitation facility. Looking back at the soundstage sale, Rosenthal said he had anticipated that demand from streaming companies for production facilities would eventually contract. “There was a little bit of froth in the market,” he said. Whether it was prescient or lucky, I can’t tell you,” he said. He said the villas on Alta Loma have been completely torn apart as part of the renovation, with the aim of returning them to service in November. “We don’t want to lay any of our people off, so we’re doing this project in sections,” he said. Rosenthal said the family plans to preserve some of its history through its remaining wine While the winery is winding down. “We will keep a library of it,” he said, referring to the Rosenthal vintages that will remain with the family. Rosenthal said his hope is that the remaining wines find their way to people who genuinely appreciate them. “My aspiration is what it’s always been,” he said.
Five years later, the Woolsey wildfire burned nearly all of the family’s Newton Canyon vineyard. He also pointed to broader challenges in the wine industry, including declining alcohol consumption among younger generations. “I had a suspicion that the demand of the streamers for production would contract. Rosenthal added that he had spent a long time in the business and believed the market would eventually change. “That was my suspicion, and it turned out to be correct. Rosenthal has put proceeds from the Raleigh Studios sale into an ongoing, eight-figure renovation of the Sunset Marquis. Bottles are also being offered at steep discounts to members of The Malibu Estate’s wine club. “To have it go to the people who will enjoy it and appreciate it. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.
