Don Sebastiani (born February 15, 1953), is an American businessman,

vintner A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes: *Cooperating with viticulturists *Monitoring the maturity of grapes to ensure their quality and to dete ...

, and politician who served as a member of the California State Assembly from 1980 to 1986.

Early life and education

Sebastiani was born and raised in

Sonoma, California Sonoma is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Sonoma is one of the principal cities of California's Wine Country and the center of the Sonoma Valley AVA. Sonoma's p ...

. A member of the Sebastiani family, he is the youngest of three children. He attended St. Francis Solano School in Sonoma, Bellarmine Prep in San Jose, and the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...

Career

Sebastiani served in the California State Assembly as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

from the 8th district from 1980 until 1986. In 1986, he launched an unsuccessful bid for

California State Controller The state controller of California is a constitutional office in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of California. Thirty-two individuals have held the office of state controller since statehood. The incumbent is Betty Yee ...

. In 1986 and 1987, He served as a member of the Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations in the

Reagan Administration Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over ...

. Sebastiani soon returned to Sonoma to run his family's wine business, Sebastiani Vineyards, where he took production from little more than 200,000 cases to nearly eight million in 15 years. Also, in 1986, along with brother-in-law Roy Cecchetti, Sebastiani began a

negociant A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes: *Cooperating with viticulturists *Monitoring the maturity of grapes to ensure their quality and to dete ...

-style winery, Cecchetti Sebastiani Cellar (CSC). CSC developed the label Pepperwood Grove and the two grew their business to nearly 400,000 cases by 1999.Sonoma's First Family of Wine
/ref> In the spring of 2001, Sebastiani left the company and, along with his sons Donny and August, started Don Sebastiani & Sons, which developed Smoking Loon and Plungerhead.

Personal life

In 1975, he married fellow USF student Nancy Cecchetti, with whom he has three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sebastiani, Don Republican Party members of the California State Assembly People from Sonoma, California University of San Francisco alumni Wine merchants Living people 1953 births 20th-century American politicians