Northern California Winery Adds Wind Power To Wine Production

When John Sweazey introduced his new wine label late last year, he decided to call it Anaba after the unique, upward flowing air currents — called anabatic winds — that flow through the vineyards on his Carneros property. This week, the name took on new meaning when Anaba became the first winery in Northern California to use wind power in the production of wine.

On Thursday, a construction crew from Jonas Energy in Lake County, aided by a crane, installed a 45-foot Skystream 3.7 wind turbine on Anaba’s vineyard and tasting room property, located at 60 Bonneau Road in Sonoma, at the intersection of Highways 116 and 121. According to Sweazey, the turbine is expected to generate 40 to 75 percent of the electricity needed to power Anaba’s tasting room, offices, irrigation system and cased goods storage facility.

“From all indications, we’re the first in Northern California to utilize wind power in wine production,” Sweazey explained. “And while we’re excited about that, it’s just the first step for us. When we start construction on our new winery, we plan to install solar panels to harvest sunlight as well. That will give us a powerful combination of wind and solar, which will move us well on our way to becoming a ‘green’ winery.”

The Skystream 3.7 wind turbine has a 2.4kW rating and was produced by Southwest Windpower of Flagstaff, AZ.

In addition to becoming a national leader in small-scale renewable energy use, Anaba also will reap other benefits from the installation of the wind turbine.

“We expect it to attract visitors, especially since it’s so visible at what is already one of the busiest intersections in Sonoma County,” Sweazey said. “And we also plan to use the turbine’s image on the labels of a new portfolio of Anaba wines that we will be introducing shortly after the first of the year.”

For those interested in seeing Anaba’s wind turbine in action, the Anaba Tasting Room, located at 60 Bonneau Road in Sonoma, is open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Additional information is online at www.anabawines.com.