More than a winery: Sonocaia, an agricultural gem

Sonoma has welcomed a new winery to the valley: Sonocaia, a boutique tasting room and farm with a story to tell.

Though its founder, Ken Wornick, has many years in the wine industry, he has largely flown under the radar, at least until now.

Sonocaia opened Oct. 1 across from Gundlach Bundschu and Scribe wineries, located in a renovated barn on an 11-acre ranch of vineyards, orchards and farm life – all of it developed or renovated by Wornick.

“It feels great to have my own winery with my own fruit for the first time in my career,” he said. “I've been growing grapes and making wine for 30 years for lots of people, including some famous individuals. But I haven’t received much attention for my own efforts because I haven’t had my own brand.”

The charming place has been in the works for several years, a true labor of love and the result of a lifelong goal for the farmer and winemaker.

“I'm super excited about being able to present our story, history and winemaking style under our own label,” he said. “To have complete control over the farming, the winemaking and the story is really satisfying.”

The Sonocaia Estate is dedicated to cultivating Sagrantino grapes, renowned for their exceptional quality.

“The most important thing to me may be what I'm growing. A great variety that’s extremely obscure, one nobody's ever heard of,” Wornick said.

Sagrantino, a red variety, is not common in the U.S., he said. “I think people will find it super interesting to be exposed to.”

The entrepreneur divides his professional path into three acts, a chronological description of how he came to be the owner and operator of the Sonocaia estate and ranch.

Silicon Valley

A true farmer at heart, Wornick always loved working outdoors with his hands in the soil. Originally a geologist, he went to grad school for an MBA and spent his free time studying grapes and wine.

“I think the best part of my whole career is what happened next,” he said.

When working in Silicon Valley, Wornick noticed an uptick in valley employees moving to the Santa Cruz Mountains.

“I saw a confluence of circumstances, that the Santa Cruz Mountains were a great place for growing grapes and many Silicon Valley executives building homes in the hills had a passion for grapes and wine.”

The opportunity arose to launch Post & Trellis Vineyards, offering vineyard development services to private clients. He advertised by stuffing his brochure in the mailboxes of new homes.

“Five years later, I had built 40 vineyards and opened the first urban winery on the San Francisco Peninsula in Redwood City, called La Honda,” he said.

Wornick ran Post & Trellis Vineyards and La Honda Winery for years with the help of his wife Cynthia Wornick, before they sold both in 2012.

Transition to Sonoma

The Wornicks moved to Sonoma and purchased the property where Sonocaia sits today. At the time, the land was without vineyards but home to a small barn that Ken planned to convert.

He launched a business similar to Post & Trellis, building vineyards, farming grapes and making wine for Sonoma clients. Ken ran Hydeout Sonoma for 10 years, building 20 vineyards for clients around Sonoma and Napa.

“So, I've kind of been a bit unknown in the industry because I've been working with private clients my whole life,” he said.

In 2022, he sold the Hydeout Sonoma client list and moved forward with plans for opening the winery.

“Now I'm onto my third act,” he said.

Sonocaia comes to life

While running multiple businesses, Wornick simultaneously developed his property off Hyde Road knowing one day he’d open a winery there.

He first planted a vineyard to supply his own grapes.

“It's a beautiful piece of property that was a complete mess when we took it over and we slowly worked to make it an ecological treasure,” he said. “We have bees and honey, olives and olive oil, chickens and eggs. We do composting and creek restoration.”

At the ranch, they capture 100% of rooftop rainwater for vineyard and farming irrigation and utilize solar power.

Wornick works towards recovering the land to its natural state through habitat restoration. He maintains a balanced ecosystem with bat and owl boxes throughout the property and has replaced fencing along Arroyo Seco Creek. This increased the setback from the riparian corridor to build a safe wildlife habitat.

When it was time for its debut, Sonocaia hosted three days of successful launch parties.

“It's been amazing. We sold out the first three days of tasting seats,” he said. “Now we're moving on to the private experiences and events but we don’t offer weddings.”

Cynthia organizes events and helps her husband run the show. She’s thrilled to be his cheerleader, she said.

“I’m happy he can walk across the yard, make wine, come back and forth and has full control of the product,” she said. “He's able to have his hands on the grapes for every step and I think that provides the best outcome for the best wine.”

Designing, engineering and building Sonocaia took five years before the small winery opened its doors.

“Ken loves farming and planting. Early in our lives no avocado escaped the toothpick-in-the-water routine where you try to sprout and plant it,” Cynthia laughed. “But the goal of all of this is to make great wine at the end of the day. And it’s not like he has anything to prove, this is all for himself.”

The winery will make a few hundred cases per year and the tasting room is open by appointment only. Though Sonocaia may sound exclusive, it doesn’t offer a wine club and all wines are available for purchase.

Sonocaia’s Dysfunctional Family Winery “Double Buffalo” label is a salute to their western roots and their family’s sense of humor, which reflects the brand’s motto: “Serious wine, irreverent style.”

“We have a long and interesting story about how we grow our grapes and why we make the wine the way we do; and that part's quite serious,” he said. “But the winery, the property, the architecture and us, we're very Sonoma – super laid back, not serious, fun, loving and pretty chill. It’s definitely not a snooty, overly expensive scene.”

You can reach Staff Writer Emma Molloy at emma.molloy@sonomanews.com.