Pitt sues Jolie over sale of a winery
Call it the War of the Rosés: Brad Pitt is suing exwife Angelina Jolie over what he says was the unauthorized sale of her stake in Chateau Miraval, the French wine estate that he says is now successful because of his “sweat equity” and his solo financial investments.
A civil case filed Thursday in Los Angeles says Jolie used legal means to skirt their understood contractual terms and sold to an “aggressive third-party competitor” — a conglomerate owned by Russian vodka billionaire Yuri Shefler — that Pitt says is trying to take over his Miraval rosé business.
Pitt is seeking a jury trial with a goal of undoing Jolie's sale to Shefler's subsidiary company Tenute del Mondo.
Despite discussions in recent years around a full or partial buyout by Pitt of Jolie's shares in the company that owns and runs Chateau Miraval, the “Maleficent” actor allegedly pulled out of talks with her ex last year and then completed a sale of her shares without getting his approval, breaking an understanding between them.
The couple acquired the estate years before getting married there in 2014. Though the two became legally single in 2019, their contentious divorce proceedings are still ongoing.
Pitt says in his lawsuit that he was incorrectly led to believe, before they purchased the property from an American wine hobbyist, that it was self-sustaining. Upon learning it was not, Pitt embarked on a journey to bring the winery up to snuff and make it profitable.
The former couple had discussed a full or partial buyout by Pitt in 2017 and again in 2019. Then in January 2021, the lawsuit says, Jolie explained “she could no longer maintain any ownership position in an alcohol-based business given her personal objections.”
The two resumed their sale negotiations, continuing into mid-2021.
Then things took a turn, according to the lawsuit. Jolie's representatives cut off talks. Pitt found out in October that Jolie had completed a sale to Tenute del Mondo, a subsidiary of Stoli Group, which is owned by Shefler.