Jess Jackson gets his Knights Valley winery and tasting room

A new Knights Valley winery and tasting room for vintner Jess Jackson was approved Tuesday by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors.

The Pelton House winery, as it will be called, had drawn opposition from neighbors because it would be the first and only tasting room in Knights Valley.

Supervisor Shirlee Zane, who was the lone no vote when the issue came before supervisors in January, again was the only one to cast a negative vote during Tuesday’s final action. She said she toured the site and still opposes the inclusion of a tasting room.

Jackson Family Wines plans to operate a 5,000-case winery in a restored stone winery that dates back 150 years, using grapes grown in a 35-acre vineyard.

Under terms being drafted by county planners, a new wine production facility will be located uphill away from Highway 128. The tasting room will be open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily, and the renovated stone building could host four events annually, with a 200-person limit. Under the use permit, weddings and concerts would be prohibited at the winery.

Since the winery was first proposed four years ago, the project has split residents active in the Knights Valley and Franz Valley neighborhood association, which has about 220 members.

Tuesday the item was on the supervisors consent calendar for a final vote and there was no comment from the public.

Jackson and his wife, Barbara Banke, own Jackson Family Wines, which produces three dozen brands, including Sonoma County vintages such as Mantanzas Creek, Murphy-Goode, La Crema, Arrowood and Stone Street. Annual produce is about 6 million cases.