After 17 years on East Napa Street, Sojourn Cellars buys its downtown Sonoma home
The winery announced on October 14 that it has bought the three East Napa Street buildings that hold its tasting salon and offices, the first property it has ever owned, and unified its hospitality and headquarters under one roof just off the Sonoma Town Square.
SONOMA: Sojourn Cellars has bought the downtown buildings it has rented for years, the winery announced on October 14. The purchase covers three consecutive properties at 141, 143 and 145 East Napa Street, home to its tasting salon and its administrative offices, just off the historic Sonoma Town Square.
The announcement, carried the same day by EIN Presswire and its syndication partners, calls the deal the first time Sojourn has owned its physical space. It is also the first time the winery's offices and its guest spaces sit in a single consolidated location, the announcement said.
From one table to three buildings
Sojourn first opened at 141 East Napa Street in 2009, in a single room with one table for seated tastings, the announcement said. Its own site gives the same address, and its tasting salon page describes the same model today: seated, comparative tastings of its single-vineyard Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, poured side by side across their growing regions, including the Sonoma Coast, the Russian River Valley and Napa Valley.
"We started here in 2009 with a single table," said Sherrie Perkovich, the winery's head of marketing and consumer experiences, in the announcement. She framed the purchase as a way for the winery to control its own future on the street where it began, while keeping the intimate character its regular guests know.
The middle building, at 143 East Napa Street, has already been reworked around a large custom table seating up to 12 guests, so the winery can host larger private and corporate groups, the announcement said. An outdoor tasting patio widens the options further.
Renovation next, on the winery's own timetable
Owning the buildings changes what Sojourn can do next. The winery plans a phased renovation built around the property's existing structure, aimed at improving the tasting experience while keeping the rooms cozy, and it plans to offer full property buyouts for large private gatherings, corporate events and exclusive tastings, the announcement said.
The trade significance is the direction of travel. In a season of tasting room closings and distressed sales across wine country, a producer that began as a tenant with one table is spending money to own its corner of downtown Sonoma outright. Rent becomes equity, a landlord's timetable becomes the winery's own, and a salon that could have been lost to a sale is now the one asset Sojourn controls completely.
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