CaliforniaRussia’s wine industry is on the brink of a financial crisis after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

The bank has been the primary financial institution for the Golden State Winery Bank for nearly three decades.

The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation closed the bank on Friday after venture capital clients raided it.

As of Friday night, thousands of wineries have discovered that their accounts have been completely locked out, with no clear timeline as to when they will be able to access their funds.

Kendra Cavala, co-founder of Bay Area canned wine company Maker, called the news “terrifying,” noting that the Silicon Valley bank was “the gold standard in the wine industry.”

Kendra Cavala, co-founder of Bay Area canned wine company Maker, noted that Silicon Valley Bank was “the gold standard in the wine industry.”

Wineries make up 2 percent of the bank’s total lending business, but the effects are far-reaching, including not being able to pay employees, bills or credit card payments. Pictured are rows of grape vines growing in a vineyard in Napa, California (file photo)

When she started Maker four years ago, choosing the right banking partner was a simple matter.

“The technology and the businesses are well capitalized, but this can be a really big payoff for independent wineries,” Cavala said. “We have never experienced anything like this. No one knows how it will end.”

Wineries make up 2 percent of the bank’s total lending business, but the effects are far-reaching, including not being able to pay employees, bills or credit card payments.

Silicon Valley Bank, the nation’s 16th largest bank, has loaned more than $4 billion to wineries and vineyards since 1994.

“The technology and the businesses are well capitalized, but this can be a really big payoff for independent wineries,” Cavala said. “We have never experienced anything like this. No one knows how it will end.”

Founder of Maker Wines, Kendra Cavala, seen at right with Chris Christensen (center) for company quality control

Rob McMillan, who worked at SVB, will write the bank’s annual report on the state of the wine industry, which wineries will depend on for their business prospects

The bank provided financing for everything from vineyard acquisitions to real estate and equipment purchases, and was considered a thought leader in the industry and produced an annual report on the state of the wine industry.

“A very large portion of our business assets are in inventory,” said Jasmine Hirsch, winemaker and general manager of Hirsch Vineyards in Sonoma County. San Francisco Chronicle. “And who understands the wine inventory? How do you rate it? How can you borrow against it if you don’t know how to value it?”

The founder of Silicon Valley Bank’s wine division, Rob McMillan, who will write the annual results, declined to comment on the situation yet, but he has built a reputation for the bank as one of the few institutions that really understands the wine industry.

The data collected by the bank was the source of data that the wineries will use to make decisions about future sales, marketing and agriculture.

The bank had a unique perspective on the industry because of the number of clients it helped finance.

The loss of the annual report, in particular, means that wineries will not have access to the comprehensive analysis that many used to make decisions.

The new bank was created Friday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Santa Clara National Bank, to house the remaining deposits and assets of the Silicon Valley bank.

But only accounts containing $250,000 or less are insured by the FDIC.