All in the Sebastianis (Third of five parts)
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| Don Sebastiani, center, left the family winery of his grandfather to start a new company with his sons, August, left, and Donny. They produce labels such as Smoking Loon. | |
| [Photo: Don Sebastiani & Sons] | |
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| Smoking Loon Cabernet Sauvignon label | |
When he ran the Sebastiani winery downtown, he, like brother Sam and father August, kept trying to raise the quality of the bottles that said Sebastiani. But he didn't forget the lower end of the spectrum, for which he created a number of low-priced new brands, including well-wines such as Vendange and the surprisingly polished Nathanson Creek. At one point they sold 8 million cases a year.
Don sold off most of those labels with their huge sales and left the family winery to start another venture with sons Augie and Donnie Jr. He didn't forget the demand for quality at affordable prices and he had the advantage of California's booming wine surplus and a Last Comic Standing trend in marketing.
The first successes were Smoking Loon with the wisecracking label, less than-$10 price and more than-$10 taste and the cheaper Pepperwood Grove. With two other slightly higher-end labels, Aquinas and Quattro, he was soon selling a million cases a year, again one of the top 20 or 30 wineries in the country.
His commitment to reasonable prices is personal, as well as opportunistic and strategic. He can pick from overproduction across California and he thinks too many wineries charge too much when consumers are reluctant to spend more than $20. Indeed, Don himself prefers Old World wines, especially lighter, more flavorful wines such as Italian Barolos and white Hermitage.
"There's not much going on in New World (wines) for $30 to $40 and I don't think there should be," he says.
Last year, his winery retooled Aquinas from small odd-lots of prestigious grapes into all-Napa cabernet, merlot and chardonnay, raising the "old fighting $5 varietals of the 1980s" to a $10 price point and classier Napa appellation. It already sells 60,000 cases a year.
Don and sons' success and wit didn't stop there. They formed a new operation to specialize in affordable wines closed with screw caps, not corks, called Three Loose Screws.
One is Mia's Playground, a childish label dedicated to their younger sister and using grapes from Sonoma's best appellations (formerly used in Quattro). The other two are brand new: most expensive is made with all-Napa fruit, and named to the delight of Sonoma wags, Screw Kappa Napa. The other, Fusee, will be cheaper and made from wine from all over California. But just for now, because Don envisions it as a "global" product made from wines from all over the world.
Closer to home, he's alert to the smaller, difficult sphere of family and careful that his sons learn to work together, not apart. "A father has his tricks" he says, taking care to notice their differences, making sure one knows when the other compliments him, and to step back. The two boys run the weekly staff meeting. And each can claim at least one of the silly names.
Some credit may go to outsiders: the Australian competition.
"They're to be congratulated," Don says, "I have to admire them."
If the Down Under boom now dominates popular-priced wine the way Sebastiani did decades ago, this branch of the family is writing the manual for counterattack.
"Many people think we're just a packaging and marketing company. But we know it's the quality in the bottle. We want (consumers) to buy three or four bottles," Don says.
Originally Published on  . ©2004 Chris Sherman, who writes about food and wine for the St. Petersburg Times, is the author of "The Buzz on Wine" Lebhar-Friedman Books, $16.95. He can be reached at (727) 893-8585 or sherman@sptimes.com |
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