Our Family Heritage

The history of Sebastiani Vineyards dates back to 1825. In that year, the Franciscan fathers of nearby mission San Francisco Shttps://65.61.159.39:8443/?previous_page=login_upolano, assisted by local native American's, 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 in northern Italy in 1895.

Samuele's story is an interesting one. When he first arrived in California, like most immigrants of the time, he was very young and very poor. He began working at odd jobs and finally saved enough money to purchase a horse and wagon, which he used to haul cobblestones from a quarry in the hill behind Sonoma to help pave the streets of San Francisco. By 1904, with the money he saved from this enterprise he was able to buy land, grow grapes and begin making fine wine; a craft he learned before immigrating to America.

Shortly after Samuele's death in 1944, his son August Sebastiani and August's wife Sylvia, purchased the winery from his father's estate. August soon gained a reputation as one of America's most skilled and innovative wine makers, a recognition justly held to this day.

Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery has undergone an unprecedented amount of changes in recent years. We significantly reduced our case-production from 8 million to 190,000 cases per year. We are a single brand winery now, and the Sebastiani portfolio of wines is our exclusive focus. We just completed a multi-million dollar renovation of our Winery & Hospitality Center and re-opened to the public in December; it is really something quite spectacular. During this time, we have also opened a wine bar in the heart of downtown Sonoma, which provides live entertainment and educational offerings. We feel the new face of Sebastiani and the new portfolio of wines is a testament to our renewed commitment to quality. With nearly a century of winemaking experience in Sonoma, Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery focuses on crafting small lots of super-premium wines from Sonoma County. The Sebastiani Cuneo family, in honoring its family heritage, has renewed their commitment to quality, and the resulting wines showcase the best Sonoma has to offer. Sebastiani produces approximately 180,000 cases with the spotlight on single vineyards and specific sub-appellations within Sonoma County. Sebastiani's four wine categories are Sonoma County ($12.50-$20), Appellation Selection ($18-$25), Vineyard Selection ($18-$32), and Proprietary and Estate Wine Selection ($75). Family-owned since 1904, this winery is located just blocks from Sonoma's historic downtown plaza and offers museum and historical tours, as well as a picnic area. In addition to tastings and retail sales of current-release, reserve and library wines, Sebastiani will be implementing a wine-and-food pairing program. The Hospitality Center is also home to one of the largest collections of hand-carved barrels in the country and houses an art gallery where various local artists will be featured. Hours daily 10AM - 5PM, Tours daily 10:30AM - 4PM.

For more information, please call (800) 888-5532 or visit our website at sebastiani.com.