SonomaWest Holdings Announces
                       Appointment of Walker Stapleton as
                 Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer


Sebastopol, California, June 17, 2005. SonomaWest Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: SWHI)
today announced the appointment of Walker Stapleton, a director of the company,
as President and Chief Executive Officer. Roger S. Mertz has resigned as the
company's Chairman of the Board. He will remain a director of the company.

Mr. Stapleton is currently with Castle Keep Realty of Denver, a private real
estate consulting firm. Mr. Stapleton gained transactional experience relating
to public and private company financing during his employment at Hambrecht &
Quist as an Investment Banker in the group's technology banking division. Most
recently, Mr. Stapleton served as Director of Real Estate Acquisitions for Lamar
Companies, a private real estate investment firm. Mr. Stapleton was a founding
principal of Convergence Capital Partners, a private real estate opportunity
fund, which made investments in Eastern Europe. Mr. Stapleton is a graduate of
Williams College. He holds a Graduate Degree in Business Economics from The
London School of Economics and Political Science. Mr. Stapleton holds a Masters
in Business Administration from The Harvard Business School.