Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/359372
62 / the tasting panel / august 2014 "The wines that we make are the ones that we enjoy drinking, which in a lot of cases is a good chef's mantra," Donny says. "We thought the best way to change how we are distributed is to change how we make our wines. Not just better wines—we wanted to make wines differently ourselves." Sonoma Heritage The story of the Sebastiani family is very much the story of Sonoma itself. Patriarch Samuele Sebastiani was instrumental in the city's growth, as his winemaking and other endeavors led to the construction of theaters, shops and everything else that makes a town go. One of Samuele's three children, August, bought the winery shortly after Samuele's death in 1944, and he broadly expanded the wine's reach. Next came Don Sebastiani, one of August's three children, who took over operations in 1986; in ten years, he had tripled the winery's production. But there were many branches of the family now, and it became more challenging to agree on the path forward. Eventually, the family sold off the Sebastiani assets and name in two big pieces: First, Don helped organize the sale of the value-priced labels, plus two wineries in the Central Valley, to the company that eventually became Constellation. "That allowed us to focus on appellation wines in Sonoma," Donny said. The family initially kept all the Sebastiani trademarks, plus the local land and winery, and the business was run by Donny's aunt, Mary Ann. But then those last remaining assets, including the use of the family name, were sold in 2009 to Bill Foley. "If you see Sebastiani on the front of the label, it's somebody else's," Donny says. "If you see Sebastiani on the back of the label, it's ours." Donny now leads the Don Sebastiani & Sons and Sivas-Sonoma, two negociant wine companies; his mother and father own half, and he, his brother and his sister each own a third of the other half. On this day, to stress the continuity of the family's heritage with their Sivas- Sonoma wines, the family opened their cellars for The Estates Group to sample wines that link the generations. From Samuele Sebastiani's era, there was Casa de Sonoma, a blend of '41 and '42 vintages (not an unusual practice in the time). August's era was represented by a bottle of 1970 Proprietor's Reserve North Coast Cabernet Sauvignon. And for Don's time there was a bottle of Cherryblock vineyard-designate Cabernet Sauvignon. Amazingly, but perhaps fittingly, one of The Estates Group members had served the Cherryblock at his wedding. All that led up to the introduction of the Sivas-Sonoma wines. There's a Sauvignon Blanc, a Pinot Noir, a Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon. The Cabernet, sourced in the Alexander Valley, was rich and dark, with notes of blackberry, oak and vanilla, while the Sauvignon, from Russian River and Dry Creek fruit, was crisp, with notes of green apple, grapefruit and lime peel. Clearly, for the Sebastianis, past is prelude. (left to right) Kimberly Geronimos, Chris Pedersen, Ann Altman and Claire Carrick of The Estates Group. Sean Riebli, Western Region Manager for Sivas-Sonoma, and Sean Moore of The Estates Group. Don Sebastiani increased the winery's production volume three-fold by focus- ing on a full range of varietal wines and helping to introduce consumers to individual varietal flavors.