Foley Wine Group buys the Historic Sebastiani Vineyards
The Foley Wine Group is pouring some more "green" into another "grape" adventure..this time a historic winery in Sonoma.
The historic Sebastiani Vineyards in Sonoma has been sold to the Foley Wine Group.
...Foley Wine Group, based in Santa Barbara, manages a portfolio of vineyards and wineries in California and the Pacific Northwest, including Foley Estates Vineyard and Winery, Lincourt Vineyards, Firestone Vineyards, Merus, Altus, Goodnight Cellars and Three Rivers Winery. - San Francisco Business Times
The history of Sebastiani Vineyards dates back to 1825. In that year, the Franciscan fathers of nearby mission San Francisco Solano, assisted by local native Americans, first cleared and planted land for their vineyards. These vineyards are among the oldest vineyard sites in northern California. They were acquired in 1904 by Samuele Sebastiani, the founder of our family winery, who immigrated from the wine producing region of Tuscany, Italy in 1895. - Sebastiani Vineyards
The decision by the Sebastiani family to sell their namesake winery rather than conquer their internal divisions will bring to an end a family business that formed Sonoma's wine identity for more than a century.
"This is a benchmark transaction because the Sebastiani name has been synonymous with Sonoma and with California," said Robert Nicholson, principal of International Wine Associates of Healdsburg. "I am sure it was a difficult decision within the family of pioneers in the wine business. But sometimes selling is the right decision. - Santa Rosa Press Democrat
Speaking of local wine happenings, the documentary From Ground to Glass (featuring some big name local vintners) is now available on DVD.
With a background in professional snowboarding and no money, self-taught filmmaker Robert DaFoe decided he wanted to leap into the winemaking business.
With a camera at his side, DaFoe was compelled to track his experiences from harvest to bottle, and all the strife in between — mainly the struggles to find cheap or free wine-related essentials. Things like grapes. And barrels. Oh, and a place to produce it all.
But what’s notable about DaFoe’s film, “From Ground to Glass,” is that he goes beyond merely tracking his own successes and failures — he’s able to get a rare glimpse into the livelihoods of some of the biggest names in the tri-county wine industry. Though the film premiered at the Santa Barbara Film Festival two years ago, it was released earlier this month on DVD, bringing the faces and histories behind the area’s biggest labels into mass distribution. - Pacific Coast Business Times
Labels: Sebastiani, Wine, Wine Country
