Project 8 Winery cleared for construction in Placer County. See what it’ll include

The controversial Project 8 Winery cleared its last hurdle Tuesday, winning full approval from the Placer County Board of Supervisors to begin construction in Penryn.

Project 8 Winery will be among the largest wineries in the county, spanning 44 acres, and will include a 75-foot tower, restaurant and underground cave network.

It’s described by the applicant BEM Inc. and Lecavalier Cellars as a “world-class destination” that will offer an educational experience to visitors, including wine-making and bottling production processes.

The project met resistance from some residents over the last few months because of its size and height, and the increased traffic it is expected to bring to the area, which some residents said would change the rural character of the neighborhood. Nevertheless, the project received widespread support during more than three hours of public comment and won a majority approval of the Board of Supervisors.

“We want to be a destination,” Mike Fournier said, founder of the Lecavalier Cellars. “We want to be a place where people want to go.”

“The history of my family, and the history of Placer County is enriched by agriculture,” Board Chair and Supervisor Jim Holmes, who represents Loomis and Rocklin, said in a statement. “Project 8, and the impact it will have on agri-business is a turning point for the wine industry in our county.”

The winery is to be built in north Penryn, off Callison Road, and would include road improvements to nearby Taylor Road to ease traffic concerns.

The winery will consist of an octagonal tower that is designed to resemble the sand dome on a steam locomotive, a tribute to Placer County’s railroad history. The winery will be built on 18 acres of its 44-acre parcel, and it will house state-of-the-art fermentation and bottling methods that rely heavily on robotics, according to the developers.

In a video presented to the board, Fournier showed how the winery using sophisticated sorting machines to strip the grapes from the stems, which will utilize only the best quality berries for wine-making.

The automated abilities of the winery put it on track to produce 50,000 cases of wine annually, Fournier said.

Project 8 will use a gravity filtration system in its 75-foot tower “which is critical to achieving the highest level of quality possible,” according to the project application.

In addition to the filtration system, the tower will house a tasting room, a 32-seat fine dining restaurant and a commercial kitchen. The restaurant will be available by reservation only, and will serve a limited five-course menu. It will also serve beer that is produced in Placer County to its visitors who are not so keen on wine, Fournier said.

The winery is approved to hold 12 on-site events a year not related to agriculture.

Lecavalier Cellars already has a production facility in Granite Bay and manages of 54½ acres of vineyards in Placer County. Project 8 will expand its operations, allowing it to open its first tasting room in the county.

“We are about bringing people together,” Fournier said. “This is what having wine, having food, enjoying the quality of life in Placer County is about. It’s bringing people together.”