Land on Napa Road that most recently was home to a turkey farm would go back to its roots – namely, grape vines – under a proposal to build a new winery on the site of one of California’s first vineyards. Plans for the 256-acre Palm Drive Vineyards, including a production facility, tasting room and special event space, were approved by the Sonoma Valley Citizens Advisory Committee last week.
Committee member Gregg Carr – part of the 11-0 decision — welcomed the return of the land to its historic first-use: “growing grapes and making wine.”
Construction of Palm Drive Vineyards will likely break ground next spring on the site comprising much of the original “Rhinefarm,” founded in part by J. Gundlach in the mid-1800s. The parcel at 2300 Napa Road is adjacent to the current Gundlach-Bundschu vineyards on Denmark Street.
“It is appropriate agriculture land use and it is creative land use,” said committee member Dick Fogg.
As Palm Drive Vineyards, Andrew Avellar, president of Carneros Vineyard Management, along with partners Kristof Anderson and Andrew Mariani, purchased the defunct Nicholas turkey farm in 2007 for $3.8 million. They tore down several turkey sheds, and planted 66 acres of grapes.
Chairperson Cynthia Wood, initially apprehensive, said a visit to the site convinced her that the plan was sensitive to the existing land. “They’ve done an extraordinary job of fitting the buildings into the landscape,” she said. “This will be a real benefit to the southern end of the valley.
The committee responded positively to architect Peter Larsen’s promise of a sustainable strategy of restoration and integration. “The overarching principle is a deep connection with the land,” he said. “The project would set the standard for low impact.”
Larsen said the idea is not to create architectural icons that will draw attention to themselves, but “structures that are at home and in harmony with the land.” The tasting room would be set into a natural foothill bench, for example, screened from road view by a standing group of trees.
Use of reclaimed materials (including parts of the old turkey sheds) and a native, drought-tolerant landscape are planned as well. “I’m enthusiastic about the Green aspects of the project,” said committee member Kirsten Lundquist.
The company takes its name from Palm Drive, the now-fenced driveway that opens to the corner of Napa Road and Denmark Streets. To mitigate traffic safety concerns, the public driveway to the new winery will be off Denmark, about 400 feet north of the intersection. That entrance will wind to merge with the original palm-lined drive leading up to the “Hacienda,” the mission-revival structure built in 1905.
“It’s what should and could be visible,” said committee member Yvonne Bowers. “It’s a showpiece.”
The plan would be executed in phases, said Nicholas Dilorio of project developer LandPlan Co. The initial annual production would be 10,000 cases, and the tasting room would operate out of the restored Hacienda. Production would ultimately build to150,000 cases annually, while the facility adds a new tasting room building, four overnight marketing accommodations, wine cave and special events space, all with requisite parking.
Although agreed on the design and landscape concepts, some committee members were concerned about the winery’s plan to host up to 52 special events a year. August Sebastiani, the Sonoma City Council representative on the panel, was not among them. “I’m OK with events,” he said. “Events put heads in beds, and the city coffers like that.
The final resolution, approved 11-0, included a provision that the exact number and size of the events be codified in the use permit. It also directs attention to whether a left-hand turn lane Napa Road should be added, and if there is any option for worker housing on the property.
