One winter day in 1988, as he surveyed his newly purchased land in California"s wine country, Sam Sebastiani made a bold decision: he would plant vines on his hillside but he would restore the hayfield below it to its natural condition - a freshwater marsh. The road to realising this vision was mined with difficulties but Sebastiani persevered and with the help of Ducks unlimited, he succeeded in creating a 90 acre preserve that is now home to 156 bird species and a host of other wildlife. In THE WINEMAKER"S MARSH, award-winning author Kenneth Brauer chronicles a year in the life of the restored wetland. He draws parallels between the seasonal transformations of the marsh and the shifting fortunes of Sebastiani himself, sketching a sensitive portrait of the environment and the man. As a perfect complement to the text, Michael Sewell"s stunning photographs reveal a landscape of subtle splendour and surprising diversity.