History

The main facility and offices of Sonoma Wine Company are located in Graton, California five miles west of Santa Rosa in Sonoma County.  The Graton facility was originally built in 1947 as an apple processing plant on the Hallberg Apple Ranch and was later converted into a wine production facility in the 1960’s where it first operated as Chateau St. Jean and later became Associated Vinters Group operating as a contract wine facility. In 2000, Codera Wine Group’s Derek Benham, founder and owner of the Blackstone Merlot brand, purchased the contract business. In 2001 Codera sold the Blackstone brand and contract business to Pacific Wine Partners (a division of Constellation Brands), after which Derek Benham founded Purple Wine Company, the parent company of Sonoma Wine Company. In 2003, Sonoma Wine Company purchased the Graton production facility back from Pacific Wine Partners and has grown to six facilities in Sonoma and Napa Counties.