Sebastiani President Quits

A. Martin Adams, president of Sebastiani Vineyards in Sonoma for two years, resigned Friday without explanation.

The resignation came two days after Sebastiani, the state’s ninth-largest winery, reached agreement with the Winery, Distillery & Allied Workers Union, ending a three-week strike. However, a spokesman for the winery said there was no connection between the strike and Adams’ decision to leave.

“Martin has been with the winery since early 1986 on a temporary basis,” said James Knapp, director of public relations. “He came on board at a time when we had some financial difficulties, and he helped the winery out of those difficulties.”

In a prepared statement, Adams said, “I am proud to have been in the position to direct the winery on its course of economic recovery.”

Adams’ resignation is effective July 1, Knapp said, adding that the position of president will be abolished at the winery. Don Sebastiani, chairman, said Richard Cuneo will become president of the operations division.

In 1987, Sebastiani Vineyards shipped more than 3.7 million cases of wine, a 25% increase over 1986 when the winery sold 2.98 million cases.