Winemaker Notes
Since it’s founded in 1904 by Samuele Sebastiani, Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery has been a Sonoma winemaking tradition. The winery is located in the heart of downtown Sonoma and offers a historic winery with a hospitality center, barrel room with stunning antique redwood tanks, a grand event space and daily tours and tastings.
Planted in 1961, the “Original Vineyard Block” now known as Cherryblock, was planted primarily to Cabernet Sauvignon, which led the winery to create one of Sonoma County’s first varietal Cabernet Sauvignon. Sebastiani has continued its tradition in crafting a variety of Cabernet’s including the iconic Cherryblock, Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and North Coast Cabernet Sauvignon. Utilizing grapes from a variety of premier growing sites created wines with richness and complexity.
Proprietor, Bill Foley, purchased Sebastiani in 2008 and honors the traditions of Sebastiani while embracing the future. Sebastiani Vineyards and Winery continues to create consistent, highly acclaimed wines crafted by Winemaker, David Nakaji.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
A standout region for its decidedly Californian take on Burgundian varieties, the Russian River Valley is named for the eponymous river that flows through it. While there are warm pockets of the AVA, it is mostly a cool-climate growing region thanks to breezes and fog from the nearby Pacific Ocean.
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir reign supreme in Russian River, with the best examples demonstrating a unique combination of richness and restraint. The cool weather makes Russian River an ideal AVA for sparkling wine production, utilizing the aforementioned varieties. Zinfandel also performs exceptionally well here. Within the Russian River Valley lie the smaller appellations of Chalk Hill and Green Valley. The former, farther from the ocean, is relatively warm, with a focus on red and white Bordeaux varieties. The latter is the coolest, foggiest parcel of the Russian River Valley and is responsible for outstanding Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.