The Last Vines of Sonoma: Sebastiani Winery Faces Rezoning
The vines don’t scream when you uproot them.
They crack softly.
Collapse slowly.
And then they’re gone.
In Sonoma, one of California’s oldest and most storied wineries, Sebastiani, stands on the edge of a future it never asked for. The land may soon trade barrels for blueprints, rows of Cabernet for cul-de-sacs.
The city is considering rezoning the property for housing.
And if it goes through, another piece of wine’s memory will be paved over.
This isn’t just about zoning.
It’s about what happens when legacy meets a developer’s pen.
A Century in the Bottle
Founded in 1904, Sebastiani is not just a winery…it’s a pillar.
Its founder, Samuele Sebastiani, was an Italian immigrant who made wine with grit and faith and a deep belief in the soil of Sonoma. He built stone cellars by hand. He survived Prohibition by making sacramental wine. He outlasted world wars, droughts, and market crashes.
Sebastiani is the story of resilience.
Of land passed through hands that knew it.
Of vines that had no reason to believe they’d be bulldozed.
And now?
Now it’s real estate.
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Because sometimes a brand doesn’t just end…it’s erased.
Why Is This Happening?
Wine country is changing.
Younger generations are drinking less wine
Production costs have soared
Labor shortages and droughts squeeze margins
Land values skyrocket as housing demand rises
And big wineries (like Sebastiani) are worth more for where they are than what they make
In 2024, the current owners began discussing rezoning for residential use. The plan: turn the property into a mixed-use development with hundreds of housing units.
The tasting room? Unclear.
The vineyards? Gone.
What Happens When Wine Country Becomes Suburbia?
Rezoning isn’t just a technical change.
It’s a shift in identity.
Grapes are seasonal. People are permanent.
Vines need time. Housing needs return.
Wine whispers. Development shouts.
When a winery becomes a neighborhood, we lose:
Historical architecture
Cultural memory
Agricultural ecosystems
Jobs tied to hospitality and wine tourism
The quiet romance that brought people to Sonoma in the first place
And yet, the pressure to build is undeniable.
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Because everything we love begins to change when the world demands more from it.
The Push for Housing, And the Pull of Heritage
Supporters of the rezoning say:
Sonoma needs more affordable housing
The winery isn’t profitable enough to sustain
A new development could boost the local economy
They are not wrong.
But the cost is irreplaceable heritage.
Sebastiani is one of the few wineries that links modern California winemaking to its immigrant roots. To tear it down is to tear out the first chapter…just as wine’s story is getting harder to tell.
What good is growth if it forgets who planted it?
What Locals Are Saying
The community is split.
Some residents want the land preserved, turned into a public space or museum. Others want the jobs and housing the development promises.
Wineries nearby are nervous.
“If Sebastiani goes, who’s next?” said one small producer.
It’s not just about one property.
It’s about the precedent.
If a winery that survived Prohibition can’t survive a zoning meeting…what chance does romance have?
The Sound of a Vineyard Going Quiet
Have you ever walked a vineyard at dusk?
The soil is still warm.
The vines sway without breeze.
The barrels hum in rooms that smell like history.
Sebastiani still has that hum. But it’s growing fainter.
If the rezoning passes, those rooms will be flattened.
The hum will be replaced by HVAC systems.
The soil covered in concrete.
The stories silenced.
All for something more permanent…yet somehow far more temporary.
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Because not only California is struggling.
Wine as Memory. Memory as Resistance.
Wine doesn’t just nourish. It remembers.
Every bottle is an echo…of weather, work, hands, land, love.
Sebastiani’s possible erasure is more than a local loss. It’s a global pattern.
We are watching:
History get priced out
Craft get outpaced by capital
Place get flattened into profit
But if we tell these stories…if we remember the names, the cellars, the hands…we resist the idea that memory is worthless.
Because memory makes flavor.
And wine without flavor is just red liquid in a glass.
A Toast to What Might Be Lost
If this is Sebastiani’s last vintage, then let us toast with reverence.
To Samuele, who built stone by stone.
To the vines that grew for 100 years.
To every bottle that carried a century in silence.
And to all the places like this,
Who are still standing,
Until someone decides they’d be worth more if they weren’t.
