In Northern Sonoma, Historic Asti Winery Reopens

The historic Asti Winery quietly reopened to the public last week, with Cellar No. 8 opening a tasting room in the facility that was once the second most popular destination in California after Disneyland.

Cellar No. 8 at Asti Winery is owned by Foster’s, the Australian beverage giant. The winery has continued as a working winery, with Foster’s wineries Cellar No. 8 and more recently Souverain making their wines on the property. Cellar No. 8 is named for an actual cellar at the winery where red wine barrels were aged in the late 1800s.

Souverain moved to Asti after the sale of its former home, the chateau on Independence Lane in Geyserville, to Francis Ford Coppola (now home to Coppola’s Rosso & Bianco).

Asti Winery was started in 1881 by Italian immigrant Andrea Sbarbaro, who formed a community, the Italian Swiss Colony, entirely around winemaking.

The new Cellar No. 8 Tasting Room is from Thursday thru Monday from 10am till 5pm. After Memorial Day weekend, the tasting room will be open 10am till 5pm daily.