Winery plan for Sonoma Valley orchard stirs debate

Special events are essential for the wine industry and tourism, Peterson said.

"Events like weddings are also wonderful, because people love destination weddings," Peterson said. "What it does is it brings people who have never selected Sonoma as a destination, and they come and fall in love with Sonoma and come back again."

Input from neighbors

In Ledson's case, the winery is proposed on Highway 12 and Frey Road, a one-lane street where residents often must wait several minutes before they can make a left turn onto the highway. Residents fear they will be trapped behind dozens of cars trying to leave an event on the small road.

Ledson plans to petition Caltrans to create an entrance off Highway 12, but he has not yet filed a formal request, he said.

As Ledson surveyed the property one recent morning, a small group of neighbors walking by stopped to ask about his work on the property.

"It looks like you're already getting started," said Pam McVey, whose property abuts the proposed vineyard.

"You have to understand, none of us wants this," said Linda Salomon, also a neighbor.

Ledson and the neighbors talked patiently with each other for about 10 minutes, discussing their concerns about the impact of Ledson's new well, the number of events he plans to host, and noise from winemaking that would disrupt the quiet nights they sought when they moved to the valley.

"There are so many good things that have come out of our meetings," Ledson said. "I'm trying to shrink it down and keep it sensible, and you guys have been a big part of it."

But the neighbors weren't content with the amicable exchange, in part because they haven't seen Ledson's compromises in writing.

"He has on his mind what he thinks is going to be beautiful for the neighborhood, but even though we talk to him, he doesn't listen real well," said Bob Salomon, who lives on Frey Road. "He keeps trying to sell us on the property."

Ledson submitted his original proposal a year ago, and the county's design review committee requested a number of changes, suggesting a scaled-down version of the winery buildings, among other things. Impact studies on noise, biology, greenhouse gases and traffic also are required before the application is complete, said county planner Traci Tesconi.

Converting the walnut orchards to vineyards is reviewed in a separate process, so Ledson has begun that work despite the incomplete winery application. Ledson plans to refile the winery application, although he has not said when he would do so.

"We're just taking our time and reevaluating what we're doing there, and doing a lot of research and trying to stay away from things that would create a commercial atmosphere," Ledson said.

View from the valley

Ledson's original proposal called for a 17,000-square-foot tasting room and hospitality building with 11 tasting rooms, 23 offices and a marketplace. Two 6,000-square-foot production buildings would sit behind the main structure.

"My goal is that when people drive by this piece of property, they'll go, 'God honey, see that old house? I bet that's one of those old homesteads,'" Ledson said. "I don't want this to look like a commercial winery. I want this to feel like an old family farm, which is who we are."

The design review committee recommended a host of changes, suggesting the number of offices should be reduced to just a few and that the overall building design should be "more rural in character and less massive."

"There isn't anything in the valley that looks anything like this," McVey said. "Personally, I think it's ugly."

Ledson plans to scale the winery building down to 7,500 square feet, he said.

"We've cut it more than in half," he said. "We cut out a whole floor."

That means it will be smaller than the nearby Ledson Winery, which is known as "The Castle" for its formidable features. Ledson began building that structure as a home in 1992, but he eventually turned it into a tasting room, because a steady stream of visitors arrived assuming they would be served wine. No wine is currently made on the property.

Ledson's wine business sold 30,000 cases of wine annually at its peak, fell to about 25,000 during the recession, and is currently up to about 27,000 cases, he said.

Having his own production facility would enable him to save money on leasing winery space and to do more environmental conservation, reusing winery water to irrigate vineyards, he said.

If the winery is approved, he plans to move production for all of his winemaking operations to the Frey Road facility.

Residents won't hear any more noise than they do during his walnut harvest, Ledson contends, because his wine tanks will be kept inside. He won't be as noisy as nearby wineries that have far larger operations, he said.

"I wouldn't want a big commercial operation," Ledson said. "I don't think they realize how small it would be. I just want to keep this in my family ranch for a long time."

Neighbors also are worried their wells may run dry if Ledson draws water for winemaking from the 1,000-foot well he recently dug on the property. Ledson says if that happened, he would share his water.

"He makes these promises, but we haven't seen anything," Salomon said. "These are just like idle promises that could make a difference if we saw that on paper."

Ledson plans to convene another meeting with neighbors in the next few weeks to discuss the proposal, he said.

"I really want it to be the most beautiful place you can imagine, and it will be," Ledson said. "If all of us can work together as a team, it will turn out so much better."

You can reach Staff Writer Cathy Bussewitz at 521-5276 or cathy. bussewitz@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @cbussewitz.