B.R. Cohn Winery can host company offsites, client dinners, holiday parties, team-building tastings and weddings of up to 200 guests, on three outdoor venues set among the vines. The estate is a working winery and olive oil producer at 15000 Sonoma Highway in Glen Ellen, in California's Sonoma Valley.
Seminars and company events
The corporate offer covers offsites and retreats, client entertaining, holiday parties, board and executive dinners and team-building tastings. Full-day and multi-day formats can be shaped around an agenda, from open-air strategy sessions to wine-paired executive dinners. Events can be held on weekdays as well as weekends, and weekday dates are usually easier to secure. Holiday party dates fill early, as do late summer and fall.
Team building centers on the estate's own products: guided wine tastings and estate olive oil tastings, tailored to group size, which can open the day or form its main activity. The events team matches the group to a venue, plans arrivals, tastings, meals and any meeting time, and is on site on the day. The site gives no fixed corporate capacity; it varies by venue and format, from a small board dinner to a large company celebration.
Weddings and receptions
Weddings range from an intimate ceremony to a reception of up to 200 guests. The site fee covers the event space from 4 pm to 10 pm, 60-inch round tables for up to 150 people, up to 150 white ceremony chairs, a one-hour rehearsal, a wine-selection tasting for up to four people and use of the Wedding Cottage and Green Room. The cottage, where the couple and their party get ready, has a full-length mirror, a couch, a dining table, a private bathroom and a mini fridge. The Green Room is decorated with rock memorabilia.
Three conditions apply: only B.R. Cohn wines may be served, and the couple must hire a dedicated wedding planner and a professional caterer. Rehearsal dinners, elopements and ceremony-only bookings are handled on request.
Rooms and capacities
- Open Air Barn, also called the Vineyard Pavilion: wood-beamed and covered, with views over the estate vineyards; used for dinners and dancing in any weather.
- Olive Grove: a lawn lined with old French Picholine olive trees strung with white lights, for cocktails, receptions and intimate dinners.
- Amphitheater: a large stage and terraced lawn framed by Cabernet Sauvignon vines, oaks and the Sonoma Mountain range, for ceremonies and cocktail receptions.
- Wedding Cottage and Green Room: preparation rooms for the wedding party.
Accommodation
The website lists no bedrooms on the estate. Groups staying overnight will need hotels in Sonoma Valley.
Catering
For company events, catering is arranged through the events team, and menus can be paired with estate wines and the estate's own olive oil. For weddings, you bring a professional caterer. Only estate wines are poured at weddings.
History and setting
Bruce Cohn, longtime manager of The Doobie Brothers, founded the estate in 1984. Its amphitheater has hosted well-known performers over the decades, and memorabilia from that history is on display. The property sits between the Mayacamas and Sonoma mountains, with Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards, olive trees and small-batch extra virgin olive oil made on site. B.R. Cohn now belongs to Adair Family Wines, a group of six estates that includes Viansa, Kunde, Girard and Clos Pegase. The tasting room is open daily from 10 am to 5 pm.
Getting there
Glen Ellen is in the heart of Sonoma Valley. The estate gives about an hour's drive from San Francisco and about an hour and a half from Sacramento, depending on traffic. Group transport can be discussed with the events team.
