Best Winery Site, Sebastopol CA

Presented byTerry [email protected]’s International Realty | Wine Country Brokerage

Best Family Winery PropertyA Highly Visible, Fully Permitted Winery Site

Table of Contents

• Rare and Valuable Entitlements

• The Problem

• The Solution

• Project Overview

• Family History

• Entitlements Timeline

• Site, Design & Entitlements Features

• Location

• Design Plans and Appendices

• Rare and Valuable Entitlements

• The Problem

• The Solution

• Project Overview

• Family History

• Entitlements Timeline

• Site, Design & Entitlements Features

• Location

• Design Plans and Appendices

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Out of the 96 wineries in Russian River Valley, only 7 have entitlements allowing

public tastings, events AND production over 25,000 cases, and this property is

one of them.

The entitlement process took over 10 years and significant resources to

navigate. Given the increasingly regulatory environment of Sonoma County

and the Russian River Valley in particular, the Best Winery property may be one

of the last to receive similar entitlements.

Rare and Valuable Entitlements

Artist’s Rendering of Production Building

The Problem

A worrisome trend for the wine industry is developing in both Sonoma and Napa counties. Residents

are banning together and creating organized groups to challenge proposals for new and expanded

wine facilities in rural areas. As a result of community concern over perceived winery over-

development, both the Napa and Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, along with their respective

regulatory agencies, have begun tightening their use permit standards for wineries; thereby creating

a long and arduous process for applicants seeking new development.

Land owners applying to develop new or expanded wine facilities (regardless of size) usually endure

years of preparation and cost prior to a final decision being issued by the County. Should they

be fortunate enough to navigate the politics of the current environment and win approval of their

application, that approval often ends up being challenged through judicial proceedings initiated under

the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) during a mandatory 30-day appeal period that follows

such governmental approval. In that circumstance, the land owner is faced with the daunting choice

of investing a highly unpredictable amount of time and money to defend the approval (by funding

legal fees for both himself/herself and for the County) or settle with the opposition and their pro-bono

legal counsel. CEQA has become both the primary tool for wine industry opponents to make new

development too costly to pursue as well as an attracive opportunity for volunteer attorneys to make a

profit under the premise that they are protecting the environment.

There are a number of examples that illustrate this troublesome trend listed in the Appendix.

The most recent involves Celebrity Chef Guy Fieri who had been trying to get his winery off the ground

for more than two years since purchasing a vineyard property in 2013. He and his team were unable

to navigate the politics of the application process. In January of 2015, the Sonoma County Board of

Zoning Adjustments, with a 5-0 vote, unanimously rejected his plans even though the property met

zoning requirements. Sonoma County’s planning director Tennis Wick said “During my tenure, we

haven’t had a unanimous vote denying a use permit for a winery,” noting this is the first time he’s ever

seen a unanimous vote against any winery. Mr. Fieri has since discontinued pursuit of the project.

A Press Democrat article on Feb. 25, 2015 states that “representatives for grape growers and

winemakers have admitted to unease in their ranks that the rejection of Fieri’s project could signal a

stiffer regulatory stance at the county level for the area’s signature industry and the tourism business

it generates. ‘This has elevated our concerns,’ said Bob Anderson, executive director of United

Winegrowers for Sonoma County, which represents about 250 local grape growers and wineries.”

The Sonoma County Gazette states “A mass movement against the expansion of rural wineries is

growing and could lead to more calls for a moratorium on all new wineries, spoiling pastoral splendor

in our beautiful semi-rural county.” The Press-Democrat also notes, “The proliferation of special

events at rural wineries has emerged as a hot-button political issue.”

The Solution

The Best Family Winery is a SHOVEL-READY project with APPROVED AND VESTED ENTITLEMENTS.

The 7.61 acre parcel located at the southeast corner of Occidental Road and Highway 116 in Sebastopol,

CA has been family owned since the 1920’s and sits in the heart of the Russian River Valley AVA.

In 2003, Best began the entitlement process through the Sonoma County Permit and Resource

Management Department (“PRMD”). It took 10+ years of work, but in 2012 vested its rights to

develop a 33,000 square foot wine production building (with an annual case capacity of 26,500

cases) and a separate 5,000 square foot tasting room space. In addition, the site has been

approved for twelve 40-person marketing events and four 150-person industry events per year.

The tasting room may operate 10am – 4pm every day of the year, and is approved to represent

multiple area brands.

All of the required design and construction drawings for the building shells have been completed

and approved by the PRMD. Best has been working with FDC Corporation, the general contractor

that built The Barlow in Sebastopol, to analyze the cost of and time to complete the site work

and construction of the building shells. The estimated time to finish this construction phase is

approximately nine months, and the current owner/developers are open to working with the buyers to

complete the project.

All interior amenities or tenant improvements still need to be designed by the end- user’s design team

and approved by the Sonoma County PRMD. The costs for and time to design and construct such

tenant improvements can vary depending on the needs of the end-user and the existing workload of

the PRMD.

CURRENT ENTITLEMENT STATUS

General Plan Amendment: COMPLETE

Specific Plan Amendment: COMPLETE

Zone Change: COMPLETE

Use Permit: COMPLETE

Final Design Review: COMPLETE

Planning Commisssion 5-0 Vote of Approval: COMPLETE

Board of Supervisors 5-0 Vote of Approval: COMPLETE

CEQA Appeal Period: COMPLETE

Construction Drawings for all site work and shells for both buildings: COMPLETE

Project OverviewA Turn-Key, Fully-Permitted Winery Site in the Heart of the Russian River Valley

The project includes agrarian design production facility and tasting room.

• Rare Permits: There are only 7 existing wineries in the Russian River Valley with permits allowing

all three entitlements of public tasting, events, and production over 25,000 cases. The property

took over 10 years to entitle.

• Turn-Key Entitlements: Site has been approved for

○ 33,000 square foot free span winery production facility

○ 26,500 annual case production

○ 5,000 square foot tasting room, open to the public and approved to represent multiple

brands from the local area

• Shovel-Ready: General plan amendment, specific plan amendment, zone change, use permit, final

design review, and building permits ALL COMPLETE.

○ Domestic and Process Waste systems installed and permitted

○ Newly installed well – 100GPM

• Design: Attractive “Modern Agrarian” design style facility and tasting room with green features.

• Location: 7917 & 7919 Occidental Rd, Sebastopol, CA 95472

○ High-profile corner of Occidental Rd & Hwy 116 on high-traffic corridor (25,000 cars per day)

○ Russian River Valley AVA with prominent neighboring wineries and vineyards

• Acreage: 7.61 gross acres; 1.9 plantable vineyard acres

Family History

• 1883 John Hallberg migrated to the area from Sweden and settled on 35 acres of farmland near

Graton. John and his wife Louisa farmed everything from hops to cherries to prunes to apples.

John raised his family on this property and one of his sons, Alfred Hallberg, eventually took over the

Ranch, where he continued to farm and eventually raise his own family.

• 1926 John’s son Alfred expanded the family ranch by purchasing the subject property for $10

dollars.

• 1946 Alfred’s youngest daughter, Esther, met Haven Best, also a longtime Sebastopol native. Upon

return from serving in WWII, Haven and Esther were married and moved onto the Family Ranch,

where Haven learned the farming trade from Alfred and raised his own family.

• Haven and his son, Bill Best, continued to work the apple orchards until the late 1980s. With a

struggling economy and apple industry, the decision was made to develop the property into a

Winery production site and tasting room. Haven’s son-in-law and grandsons Chris and Casey

Costello have formed Best Family Investors, LLC and embarked on a 10+ year entitlement process.

“The property has been in the

family for many years. It’s been a

long process getting this far and

we are excited to see this project

come to life.”

– Chris Costello

Entitlements Timeline

Best Family Investors, LLC embarked on what became a 10+ year entitlement process at significant

expense

2002 Initial septic investigation

2002-2005 Preliminary design of septic system and general site layout concept discussed

and reviewed.

Application process reviewed and application team assembled, team to

include: architect, planning consultant, engineers, environmental (noise, traffic,

visual, biological, cultural, and geotechnical)

2006-2008 Two-year environmental analysis complete.

Preliminary design review complete.

Continued work on application requirements and additional studies.

2009 Application to PRMD submitted.

Planning Commission hearing complete (passed on a 5-0 vote).

1st straw-vote hearing with Board of Supervisors complete

(passing on a 5-0 vote).

Engaged legal counsel as project was becoming more contested.

2010 1st Board of Supervisors hearing complete (passed on a 5-0 vote).

CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) lawsuit filed against Best Family

Investors AND Sonoma County PRMD.

2012 CEQA lawsuit settlement reached.

2nd straw-vote hearing with Board of Supervisors complete

(passed on 5-0 vote).

2nd Board of Supervisors hearing complete (passed on a 5-0 vote).

Entitlement process complete.

Design of process waste systems submitted for plan check.

Final design review complete.

2013 Installation of process waste septic system completed.

Submittal of construction drawings (site and shell for tasting and production)

Well installation complete.

Vested use permits

2014 Initial grading for production building pad and access road complete.

Site Design & Entitlement Features

Site Features• Prime location on corner of Occidental Rd & Hwy 116

• Intersection trafic count: 25,000 vehicles per day

• Property access directly off Occidental Rd

• Highly visible design feature of water-tower at Northwest corner

• Attractive “high-end winery landscaping”

• Landscaping includes family-friendly butterfly-habitat that further enhances the winery

• 1.9 acres of plantable vineyard

• Ample parking for visitors and employees

• Property adjacent to the Joe Rodota bike trail

Production Building Features• Size: 33,000 +/- square feet

• Permitted annual case production: 26,500

• Free-span, steel frame structure

• Modern agrarian design with board and batten siding and perimeter rock trim

• Structural insulated wall and roof panels

• Forest green standing-seam metal roof

• Green design features

○ Project is carbon neutral. Prooerty comes with 6,466 tons of prepaid carbon credits (CRT’s)

offsetting greenhouse gases for the next 30 years

○ Rainwater catchent system designed for landscape irrigation and fire suppression

○ Approval for 170kW solar energy system

• Access to staging pad area designed to accommodate up to a 60-foot tractor-trailer

• Designed to accommodate internal crush production

• Interior layout and finishes TBD

Tasting Room Features• Size: 5,000 +/- square feet

• Modern agrarian design with board and batten siding, perimeter rock trim, and lodge pole entry

• Forest green standing-seam metal roof

• No tasting appointments required

• Approved to represent multiple brands from the local area

• Allowed to serve pre-packaged food

• Approved operating hours from 10am to 4pm 365 days per year

• Interior layout and finishes TBD

Events• 12 Marketing luncheons or dinners per year with up to 40 participants

• 4 “industry wide events” per year with up to 150 participants

Rare and Valuable Entitlements

• Out of the 96 wineries in Russian River Valley, only 7 have entitlements allowing public tastings,

events AND production over 25,000 cases, and this property is one of them.

• The entitlement process took over 10 years and significant resources to navigate. Given the

increasingly regulatory environment of Sonoma County and the Russian River Valley in particular,

the Best Winery property may be one of the last to receive similar entitlements.

Purple Star = Winery with public tasting + events + production

over 25,000 cases

Yellow dot = Winery that does not meet the above criteria

Source: Sonoma County PRMD. All permitted wineries in unincorporated areas.

Best Family Winery Property


Location


Located in the heart of Russian River Valley along a major tourism corridor

High-Profile NeighborsThe Best Winery site is located in a scenic corridor with

a number of high-profile wineries and vineyards in the

immediate neighborhood. There is also an increase of interest

in tourism to Sebastopol and the Russian River area with the

opening of The Barlow and other trendy restaurants. Together,

they attract a significant flow of wine tourism traffic.

• The Barlow

• Paul Hobbs Winery

• Iron Horse Winery

• Zazu Restaurant

• Merry Edwards Winery

• Dutton Goldfield Winery

• Graton Casino

• Kosta Browne Winery

Location

Aerial View• The property is currently an apple orchard with a 1,500 square foot rental home

• Directly across Hwy 116 is the Sonoma West Holdings Inc property (known as the Vacu-Dry facility)

which houses several wine brands. However, that facility is not suited for direct-to-consumer

tastings and sales. A number of the tenants have expressed an interest in the Best Winery’s tasting

room permit which allows for “multiple area brands”

Adrian Fog WineryEnos VineyardsEnRoute WineryHunter Wine Cellars, LLCOccidental Road Cellars Owl Ridge Wine Services Paul Hobbs WineryLP Peters Family Winery Red Car Winery Wesmar Winery

• Ideally located on high visibility corner of Hwy 116 and Occidental Rd (25,000 vehicles per day)

• Fully permitted, ready to build winery production building with 26,500 case annual production

capacity along with a separate tasting room building approved to represent multiple brands from

the local area

• Ideal for generating significant direct-to-consumer sales

• Location enables buyer’s Brand to become one of the most prominent wineries in the Russian River

Valley


The Ideal Location For a Russian River Valley Brand

Appendix

• Visual Renderings

• Plans

• Case studies of Napa/Sonoma permit difficulties

• Agent Background

• Confidentiality Statement

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Case studies of Napa/Sonoma permit difficulties

• Hunt-Ryd Winery –

○ Application: 10,000 annual cases production with; 14 events per year and a tasting room;

proposed land use meets zoning requirements; 2 year application process.

○ Time to final public hearing: 2 Years

○ Outcome: unanimously rejected 5-0 by the Sonoma County Board of Zoning Adjustments;

owner discontinued

• Cornell Winery –

○ Applicaton: 10,000 annual case production with 10 special events per year and a tasting room

by appointment

○ Time to final public hearing: 7 years

○ Outcome: approved by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors; opponents appealed the

approval by filing a lawsuit under CEQA; project under ongoing litigation.

• Pelton House Winery –

○ Applicaton: 5,000 annual case production with 4 special events per year and a tasting room


○ Outcome: approved by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on a 4-1 vote; opponents

appealed the approval by filing a lawsuite under CEQA and prevailed; owner discontinued

• Hop Kiln Winery –

○ Application: increase annual case production from 20,000 cases to 60,000 cases; 38 special

events per year


○ Outcome: approved by the Sonoma County Board of Zoning Adjustments for an increase in

annual case production from 20,000 cases to 30,000 cases with 4 special events; approval

being appealed to Sonoma County Board of Supervisors

• Belden Barns Winery –

○ Application: 10,000 annual case production with 12 events per year

○ Time to final public hearing: over 2 years (5/2012 - 11/2014)

○ Outcome: approved by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors 4-1; opponents appealed the

approval by filing a lawsuit under CEQA; project under ongoing litigation

Terry Crisler has been a licensed real estate broker whose work has extended to both Northern and

Southern California since 2004. Her business background has been a great preparation for real estate

sales. Prior to her career in real estate, Terry worked for 15+ years in the wine industry, preceded by

five years in real estate finance. She also received her California state contractors license in 1993

and worked to build her family’s construction business. The experience, knowledge and relationships

developed over the years has given Terry an expertise that is a significant asset to her clients. Her

experience in the real estate market encompasses residential, commercial and agricultural properties.

Terry’s clients include homeowners, wine industry professionals and winery owners, vineyard growers,

business owners, real estate developers and investors. Recent significant sales include Viansa Winery

and Marketplace, the historic registered Cooper House, and various residential, land, and vineyard

properties throughout Sonoma and Napa Counties.

Terry is an active member of the National Association of Realtors, the California Association of

Realtors, North Bay Association of Realtors, and the Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers Association.

Terry was raised in Hilo, Hawaii and currently lives in Sonoma, California. Her husband is the owner of

Trellis Wine Group, and they are the empty nest parents of three young adults.

For further information about the Best Family Winery project, or to schedule a showing:

Terry Crisler

707-509-9533 or [email protected]

Agent Background

This confidential Memorandum is based upon information provided by Best Family Investors, LLC

(“Best Winery”). This memorandum is distributed by Sotheby’s International Realty as Best Winery’s

real estate broker, solely for the use by prospective investors subject to Best Winery’s confidentiality

agreement in considering an acquisition or certain assets of Best Winery. This memorandum has been

approved by Best Winery and is provided by Best Winery, the memorandum issuer.

This memorandum contains selected preliminary information to assist the recipient in making an initial

decision whether to proceed with further investigation. Sotheby’s International Realty and Best Winery

expressly disclaim any and all liability for the information contained in this document or any omissions

from it and reserve the right to supplement, amend, and modify the information at any time, but have

no obligation to do so.

This document does not constitute and offer to sell securities of Best Winery. Any acquisition of any

assets of Best Winery should be based on further investigation. In connection with any transaction with

Best Winery, Best Winery’s sole responsibility with respect to the matters described therein shall be as

set forth in the initial executed agreement with Best Winery containing the terms of such transaction.

Each recipient of this document agrees that all the information contained herein is confidential, that

the recipient will treat it confidentially and that the recipient will not directly or indirectly disclose,

reproduce or distribute such information without the prior written consent of Best Winery and

Sotheby’s International Realty.

This memorandum may contain forward-looking statements based on certain Best Winery pro

forma analyzes and estimates about the industry, management’s beliefs, and certain assumptions

Best Winery has made. Any statements that refer to plans, opportunities, expectations, projections,

forecasts, conditions or other statements regarding future events or circumstances, including any

underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees or

assurances of future performance and are subject to many risks, uncertainties, circumstances, and

assumptions that are difficult to predict. Actual results may differ materially and adversely from these

expressed in any forward-looking statements. Neither Sotheby’s International Realty nor Best Winery

undertakes any obligation to revise or update publicly and forward-looking statements for any reason.

Recipients who do not wish to pursue this matter must promptly return this document to Sotheby’s

International Realty.

Under no circumstance shall recipients contact Best Winery, its owners, employees,

suppliers, competitors, customers or the trade without consent in writing from

Sotheby’s International Realty.

Restricted Distribution and Use

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Best Winery Site, Sebastopol CA