Sep 18, 2024 | Dysfunctional Family Winery, Hydeout Sonoma, Sonocaia Winery, Sonoma Farming
Rosé sale. 20% off. For the last hot days of summer.
Just 7 cases remaining. Who wants some?
Cellar find! We found 7 perfectly pristine cases of 2020 Rosé hiding in plain sight. Our beautifully aged rosé is made in the French saignée style, meaning ‘to bleed.’ Most rosé is made by going straight into the press when the fruit when arrives at the winery. That approach often results in a light cotton candy colored wine, with little to no tannin but nice fresh fruit. In the saignée style, the red grapes are first processed into a fermentation tank. Then some liquid that has sat ‘on the skins’ is ‘bled off’ and then fermented as a rosé. What remains in the tank becomes a more concentrated dark red wine. And the resulting rosé in this approach is a darker red, slightly more tannic, slightly crisper, and is thus actually age-worthy vino. And that is what we’re offering here. Aged 4 years in bottle in the winery cellar. Pristine condition. We recommend drinking it ice-cold on the last of the hot summer days still ahead.
Rose sale! 20% off instantly. Because you are a subscriber to this blog, you are automatically in our “friends and family” discount program! When you order, for UPS shipping or pick up at the winery, enter this discount code for an instant 20% off: FF20
Click here to have a look at the rest of our wines, including our Sonocaia 100% estate Sagrantino and our Dysfunctional Family red blends
What I did on my summer vacation (only because some subscribers asked)…
Dear Teacher, bottling and harvest starts this week with work in the winery likely lasting through Thanksgiving. So we jumped on the motorcycle for our summer vacation. This year, we rode to the Canadian Rockies and back. Thousands of miles. 3,508 miles to be exact. The ride took us through Kalispell Montana, crossed into Canada, headed north to Edmonton (and went to the Metallica 72 Seasons concert) then rode back to Calgary and met up with nine friends on their moto bikes, rode west to Vancouver via Banff, Revelstoke, and Whistler/Blackcomb, then turned back east to Kamloops and Kelowna, and then finally headed south to home – via Yakima, Bend, and Klamath Falls. It was an epic adventure full of great roads, wildlife, hiking, food and drink. And a very important new cultural discovery – Hawkins Cheezies, a corn meal and cheese snack far superior to all other cheesy puffs! Not kidding. Have a look.
Metallica at the Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Click here if you need to bang your head – Wherever I May Roam, oh come and click it, even if you don’t like metal, you’ll enjoy the buzz!
Motorcycle riding through the spectacular Canadian Rockies from Calgary to Vancouver and back with our riding group from Florida, South Dakota, Arizona, and NorCal
Hiking the Rockies
The famed Canadian bar “drink-in-meal”, called the Giant Bloody Caesar. What the heck is this you may ask? It’s a monster Bloody Mary, plus two giant loaded sliders, a few fried zucchini sticks, some veggies, and a lot of napkins, it just goes on and on…
The famed Hawkins Cheezies, which we discovered on a fuel stop. Don’t laugh. Like no other cheesy puff you have ever had. For real. Super crunchy and cheesy. Made from corn meal, not wheat. Available only in Canada. And as it turns out, you can get em from a supplier via Amazon.
Oh, so this is where Cynthia gets her superpower!
3,508 miles, and the bike and us safely back home in time for bottling and harvest
In the next blog post…
- Bottling the 2022 vintage of Sonocaia Sagrantino.
- Racking the 2023 vintage of Sonocaia Sagrantino.
- Harvesting the Sonocaia Sagrantino. The 2024 harvest is now just around the corner. This week, brix (sugar readings) were in the 24.3 range. Shoots are lignifying. Seeds are turning coffee colored. I am hoping to push the harvest out as late as possible as Sagrantino’s thick skin loves a long growing season. And the refined tannins are way more important than sugar water measurements. But as always, the weather will be ultimately in charge.
- And soon, a full report on a new professional colleagues wine tasting event we’re launching here at Sonocaia
Warmly, Ken
P.S. – The Sonoma Valley Vintners and Growers is hosting their annual Vintage Fest. Click on this link to see the entire schedule, buy tickets, bid on auction items. Sonocaia and Dysfunctional will be pouring at the Plaza Barracks on Saturday eve, Sept 28th, at 6:00pm.
But wait, there’s more…
Sonoma International Film Festival
27 years of the best in film, food, wine, and fun – it all starts up again on March 19-23, 2025. Four days of amazing film, food, wine, and parties. It’s an all-walking film festival around the Sonoma Plaza. Feature films, docs, animation. Buy your passes starting on October 1st: Purchase tickets here for SIFF. This week’s SIFF’s monthly film featured “Giants Rising”, “the secrets and superpowers of the Redwoods”, and winner of more than six film festival awards, at the Sebastiani Theatre on Sonoma Plaza. Sold out crowd. Great film. See images below.
SIFF Executive Director, Ginny Kreiger, introducing the film, Giants Rising
Director Emeritus, Kevin McNeely (left) doing a great job with the Q&A after the screening of Giants Rising.
Sonoma Farmer’s Market
At one of the last Tuesday night Farmer’s Markets of the year, where a Doors tribute band rocked the Sonoma plaza. And we dined al fresco with friends. And drinking Dysfunctional vino.
Bobcats
Wildlife is a constant presence here at the Hydeout Farm. It constantly ebbs and flows as rapidly-reproducing animals at the bottom of the food chain (like mice and rabbits and squirrels) get consumed by apex predators who are higher on the food chain. Two weeks ago, a pregnant Bobcat appeared, and then a week later, two baby Bobcats showed up. It’s been interesting to observe how rapidly the population of rabbits and squirrels drops off – whether they are eaten, relocate elsewhere for safety, or both. Even the raucous and very pack-like black crows have vanished.
Red Tail Hawks and Cooper Hawks
Life is dangerous for the apex predators too, but in different ways. In this first image, a Red Tail Hawk adult stretched its wing near some power lines, causing an electrical arc and sadly, the hawk exploded with 7000 amps of juice. I found its severed foot at the bottom of the power pole. Very impressive claw! One week later, an adult Coopers Hawk was training a fledgling to hunt. But sadly, it hit something… maybe misjudged a tree, and broke a wing. We found the young hawk sitting in the driveway looking dazed. When we approached slowly, it just fell over. We collected the hawk into a box and drove it up to the Santa Rose “Wild Bird Rescue.” We’re waiting on news of its recovery, and hope to repatriate the fledging bird back to its home soon.
Sustainable vineyard farming practices
Our Sonocaia and Dysfunctional Family wines are 100% organic. We do our best to balance old world methods with modern science. We never use toxic chemicals of any kind; after all, we live on this land, eat the food, and drink the water. As the grapes ripen, wild birds and other animals positively lose their minds on the sugary grapes. One of the best deterrents is to install bright reflective tape in the vine rows. As the breeze blows and the tape shimmers, little blasts of confusing bright light reflect out in a kaleidoscope fashion. The streaky light makes the birds nervous. It’s not perfect, they do learn to overcome their fear. But hopefully we minimize damage to the fruit we’ve worked so hard to grow over the previous 9 months. I like to say we’ll keep 4 acres for the humans and the wild life can have the other 7 undeveloped open acres.
New Rooster and chicks
Some weeks ago, 20 new baby chicks arrived from the nursery. And just 10 shorts weeks later, they are ready to be introduced to the adult population. In this first photo, you see the chicks just as they arrived, little baseball-sized fluff balls. In the second image, it becomes quickly obvious that one of the babies was incorrectly sexed at the nursery and is in fact not an egg-laying hen, but a rowdy teenage rooster. Note: “Slim” is available for adoption (we already have 2 adult roosters which is twice what we need or want!)
Aug 22, 2024 | Dysfunctional Family Winery, Hydeout Sonoma, Sonocaia Winery, Sonoma Farming, Uncategorized
Two featured Dysfunctional Family Winery red blends
Our Dysfunctional Family 2021 Red Blend also known as the “Double Buffalo” is drinking well right now. It is a deeply colored, medium-bodied, easy-drinking wine, with an all-American blend of 62% Syrah, 24% Zinfandel, 8% Merlot, and 6% Cabernet. Your dinner party guests will enjoy this very approachable wine that drinks nicely all evening long. Plus, the Dysfunctional brand name and “Double Buffalo” iconography make for good conversation. Less than 25 cases remain.
Find it here: Dysfunctional 2021 Red Blend ‘Double Buffalo”
Taking a step back to an older favorite, we have a few cases remaining of this 2018 Red Blend, this one sourced from my colleagues’ 3 small hand-farmed 100% organic vineyards in the heart of Sonoma Valley; for those who prefer a softer version of our annual blend, this is juicy wine with a smooth plush texture, soft red fruit, and silky tannins – looks like Cab (65%), tastes more like a fat Syrah (23%), and finishes like a Pinot (9% Cab Franc and 3% Merlot). Let it breathe a bit, then enjoy with it salmon, or lightly smoked/barbecued/roasted food. It is aged for 20 months in a mix of French and American oak. Less than 12 cases remain.
Find it here: Dysfunctional 2018 Red Blend
Click here to have a look at the rest of our wines here, including our 100% estate Sagrantino, rosé, and many red blends
20% off instantly! Because you are a subscriber to this blog, you are automatically in our “friends and family” discount program! When you order, for UPS shipping or pick up at the winery, enter this discount code for an instant 20% off: FF20
News from the Hydeout farm and around the Sonoma Valley
Bobcats
Wildlife is a constant presence here at the Hydeout Farm. It constantly ebbs and flows as rapidly-reproducing animals at the bottom of the food chain (like mice and rabbits and squirrels) get consumed by apex predators who are higher on the food chain. Two weeks ago, a pregnant Bobcat appeared, and then a week later, two baby Bobcats showed up. It’s been interesting to observe how rapidly the population of rabbits and squirrels drops off – whether they are eaten, relocate elsewhere for safety, or both. Even the raucous and very pack-like black crows have vanished.
Red Tail Hawks and Cooper Hawks
Life is dangerous for the apex predators too, but in different ways. In this first image, a Red Tail Hawk adult stretched its wing near some power lines, causing an electrical arc and sadly, the hawk exploded with 7000 amps of juice. I found its severed foot at the bottom of the power pole. Very impressive claw! One week later, an adult Coopers Hawk was training a fledgling to hunt. But sadly, it hit something… maybe misjudged a tree, and broke a wing. We found the young hawk sitting in the driveway looking dazed. When we approached slowly, it just fell over. We collected the hawk into a box and drove it up to the Santa Rose “Wild Bird Rescue.” We’re waiting on news of its recovery, and hope to repatriate the fledging bird back to its home soon.
Sustainable vineyard farming practices
Our Sonocaia and Dysfunctional Family wines are 100% organic. We do our best to balance old world methods with modern science. We never use toxic chemicals of any kind; after all, we live on this land, eat the food, and drink the water. As the grapes ripen, wild birds and other animals positively lose their minds on the sugary grapes. One of the best deterrents is to install bright reflective tape in the vine rows. As the breeze blows and the tape shimmers, little blasts of confusing bright light reflect out in a kaleidoscope fashion. The streaky light makes the birds nervous. It’s not perfect, they do learn to overcome their fear. But hopefully we minimize damage to the fruit we’ve worked so hard to grow over the previous 9 months. I like to say we’ll keep 4 acres for the humans and the wild life can have the other 7 undeveloped open acres.
Sonoma International Film Festival
27 years of the best in film, food, wine, and fun – it all starts up again on March 19-23, 2025. Buy your passes here: SIFF. Also, mark your calendars for SIFF’s next monthly Tuesday night feature, “Giants Rising”, “the secrets and superpowers of the Redwoods”, and winner of more than six film festival awards, at 7:00pm on September 17th at the Sebastiani Theatre on Sonoma Plaza.
Hot Air ballooning in Sonoma Valley
Your adventure begins the moment you arrive at the Sonoma Skypark in Sonoma. You’ll want to allow at least 3-4 hours in total for this unique outdoor adventure. The first image is looking up at the balloons from the Hydeout pool deck. The 2nd image was of the Hydeout farm and Sonocaia winery, taken from the ballon. You can see a portion of the vineyard at lower right, the winery at far right. The last image is also looking out over the pool deck ten minutes later. They were moving very fast despite looking like the balloon wasn’t moving at all.
Sonoma City Party
On August 1st, the Sonoma City Council and the City of Sonoma presented the 27th Annual Sonoma City Party. The City of Sonoma hosts this annual party to bring our community together for fun, festivities, and to celebrate our vibrant community. A long-standing tradition, this unique event celebrates the rich history of Sonoma, its residents, businesses, and non-profits. The event is free to attend and concludes with a raucous band and dancing as the sun sets.
Zucchini races on the Sonoma Plaza
Sonoma hosts a fabulous farmer’s market on the Sonoma Plaza every Tuesday evening all summer long. On August 20th, instead of music, they held the hilarious, energetic, and wild zucchini races. Adults and kids alike entered. The track was swarmed by screaming participants. The world briefly stopped spinning on it’s axis as the gate fell and the utterly ridiculous zucchini’s raced, rolled, and toppled over the track. 
Click here to watch a very brief Zuchini race movie
New Rooster and chicks
Some weeks ago, 20 new baby chicks arrived from the nursery. And just 10 shorts weeks later, they are ready to be introduced to the adult population. In this first photo, you see the chicks just as they arrived, little baseball-sized fluff balls. In the second image, it becomes quickly obvious that one of the babies was incorrectly sexed at the nursery and is in fact not an egg-laying hen, but a rowdy teenage rooster. Note: “Oreo” is available for adoption (we already have 2 adult roosters which is twice what we need or want!)
Doing good in Sonoma – Impact 100
We hosted the entire board of Impact 100 here at the Sonocaia winery. It is our pleasure to support the local non-profits. Impact 100 Sonoma is a women’s philanthropic organization founded in 2009 to support the vital services and programs of nonprofits serving our community. By working together and pooling our resources, we’re helping to build a just and thriving Sonoma Valley.
Last, a bit of humor
Not meant to be political, and you could probably take this either way, left, right, or otherwise, but it still made for a good and slightly ashamed laugh… 
Next up…
Harvesting our Sonocaia Sagrantino. The 2024 harvest is just around the corner. This week, brix (sugar readings) were in the 17-19 range. I am hoping to push the harvest out as late as possible as Sagrantino’s thick skin loves a long growing season. And coffee-colored seeds and refined tannins are way more important than sugar water measurements. But as always, the weather will be ultimately in charge.
Warmly, Ken
Jul 7, 2024 | Sagrantino, Sonocaia, Sonocaia Estate, Sonocaia Estate Vineyard, Sonocaia Winery, Sonoma Farming, Sonoma International Film Festival, Sonoma lifestyle, Sonoma Valley, Yoga Retreat
Yoga Retreat at Sonocaia – by the team from Euphoria
Just a few spots remain for this Sunday’s retreat at Sonocaia. July 14th. 4:00pm – 6:30pm. Details below. Click here to learn more and claim a spot.
About Euphoria: What began as a dreamy idea in 2008 over a glass of Brunello in Tuscany is now a women-owned lifestyle retreat company with more than 100 retreats enjoyed by thousands around the world. Here’s to dreams, wine, travel and friendships.
With 20+ years of yoga instruction under her belt Monika Kaufman has even more passion for sharing yoga with others than ever before. She believes that enthusiasm, curiosity and a sense of wonder fuels a yoga practice that feeds your soul. Her classes will meet you wherever you are at on your yoga journey by keeping it fun, and accessible with just the right amount of challenge to keep you fully engaged and growing.
Olive oil from the Sonocaia estate
New: 100% extra virgin, 100% organic, pure, hand bottled; available only at the winery
Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is the highest quality, most flavorful, and most costly type of olive oil – because it’s unrefined – never heated treated or processed with chemicals. And never blended with other oils. It has a green grassy color and bright peppery flavors and is ideal for dipping or drizzling over finished dishes. Stop by and try some Sonocaia EVOO soon.
July 4th in Sonoma
Sonoma is a small town with a very big parade and an even bigger fireworks show. Sonoma also has a vast array of non-profits. The Sonoma International Film Festival supports the local high school film department. And puts on a dazzling fully-walkable film festival every March. This was our first year actually having a float in the parade. We were small but mighty!
Top row: Bob Berg, Board Chair, and Ken Wornick, Board Vice Chair Bottom row, Cynthia Wornick, Siri Berg, board member Ursula Zopp, and SIFF Exec Director Ginny Krieger (note the popcorn purse, winner!)
I just hooked up the vineyard trailer to the Polaris Ranger and off we went. That’s our E.D., Ginny Krieger, looking resplendent riding on the back of the Polaris. Cynthia and Siri holding down the fort in back. The rest of our gang is walking out in front with the Film Fest banner. Next year, we’ll be back with popcorn and music too.
How hot was it really last week? 107F! And you’re dry farming grape vines during a heat wave? Yes.
Check this out. In case there was any doubt, the outside thermometer hit 107F in the shade. Everything suffered under the oppressive heat. But three days later it was back to the mid-50’s at night. And everything recovered. We are still mostly dry-farming the vineyard, watering only during the winter and perhaps counter-intuitively often while it’s raining. With this approach, the vineyard builds up larger stores of soil moisture during the winter – with both natural rain and controlled irrigation, simultaneously. And then in summer the roots chase the water down deep as the sun bakes off the surface moisture. The theory is it makes for healthier grape vines long term, and more stress resistant versus making life easy by watering all summer. And likely increases color and flavors in the wine too.
75F inside, 107F outside
Dry farming the Sonocaia estate Sagrantino in the 107F heat wave
News from Sonocaia
Coyotes have been around much more frequently lately. Thinking it’s the boom in the rabbit population. Also, no explanation yet, but it seems everyone around the Sonoma Valley has massive spider webs everywhere outside – walls, lights, furniture, etc. Even after a good broom or high pressure wash, they come back overnight. Must be an insect bloom of some kind supporting this large population of spiders?
The moment before an event is always fun. Here, minutes away from a Sonocaia wine and food tasting
Sonocaia estate barrel room
Sonocaia estate reserve 2022 Sagrantino. You haven’t tried it yet? What are you waiting for?
Jun 25, 2024 | Dysfunctional Family Winery, Hydeout Sonoma, Sonocaia, Sonocaia Estate, Sonocaia Estate Vineyard, Sonocaia Winery, Sonoma Farming, Sonoma lifestyle, Sonoma Valley, things to do in Sonoma, Yoga Retreat
Today’s topics: 1) A wellness retreat with Euphoria Retreats hosted by Sonocaia’s Hydeout Farm, 2) a new secret wine project, 3) our ‘Double Buffalo’ Red Blend, 4) plus gardening, bees, chickens, and cowboys…
Euphoria’s “A Taste of Wellness” event at The Hydeout Farm. Yoga. Sound Healing. Wine tasting. July 14th. 4:00PM. A few spots remain. Join us for the fun. No experience needed. See below…
Click here to go directly to the event page and access a ticket.
Your instructor Monika Kaufman – With 20+ years of yoga instruction under her belt Monika has even more passion for sharing yoga with others than ever before. She believes that enthusiasm, curiosity and a sense of wonder fuels a yoga practice that feeds your soul. Her classes will meet you wherever you are at on your yoga journey by keeping it fun, and accessible with just the right amount of challenge to keep you fully engaged and growing.
A new very special wine project is in the works!
Three good friends, with over sixty years in grape growing and winemaking, are joining forces for a new wine project to be released in late 2025. John Boich of Napa’s Boich Family Cellars, John Painter of Sonoma’s Las Madres vineyard, and me, Ken Wornick from Sonocaia Winery, are joining forces to create a one-of-a-kind wine. Blending trials are complete. That’s all we can say for now. Watch here and on @sonocaia on Instagram for more news.
Sonocaia’s Ken Wornick, Las Madres Vineyard’s John Painter, and Jon Boich from Boich Family Cellars
The inaugural “Double Buffalo” Dysfunctional Family Red Blend, sourced as always from several friend’s special boutique vineyards throughout Sonoma Valley. Just two barrels produced! And a very fun label too. Half way to sold out. This vintage is very soft and fruity but carries nicely into a long finish. A terrific food-friendly wine, especially great with pizza, burgers, and BBQ. It’s a red wine that can handle a bit of ice in the glass at sunset and still hang around for dinner too. Pinot Noir lovers can slide on over to this wine and still be happy! Blend is 100% Sonoma Valley – 60% Syrah, 24% Zin, 8% Merlot, 6% Cab, and low-ish alcohol. Get it here; pick up at the winery, or we’ll ship to you.
So much incredible produce pouring out of the Hydeout gardens this week
Featured here, the just harvested and delicious red cabbage, packed with tons of Vitamins C and K, and mega-fiber too. Go to @sonocaia and @kenwornick on Instagram and follow us to see the most recent produce including onions, arugula, and lettuce. Basil and tomatoes just around the corner!
Bees and Honey
Wow, what a spring it has been in the bee hives. Three hives roared back to life after a long cold wet winter, then a few things turned south. Despite rigorous care and good science, two hives swarmed, and what was left behind was robbed. Forty pounds of honey lost to another hive somewhere in the neighborhood. Who has our honey? But meanwhile, the remaining hive is huge and healthy and growing daily being ‘queen-right’ with lots of brood developing every day. With thanks to my generous mentors Chere Pafford and Nic Freedman.
Going through what’s left of the swarmed and robbed hive boxes. Such is life. Even with careful planning and attention to detail, nature will do as it pleases.
Chickens
These chicks in the photos below are now four weeks old. We’re slowly bringing the brooding temperature down 5 degrees every week, from a start of 95F, now down to 75F, and lower in the next few weeks until they no longer need the heat lamp. Just like almost all small creatures, they sing and dance and chase each other around, and eat and drink a lot. Soon they’ll get their full fluffy feathers, handle the cool night air, and start developing a ‘pecking order’ (yes, who is the alpha chick and who gets pecked out of line for food and water).
Cowboys
The winery and vineyard are in good shape, as are the gardens and chickens and bees, so a brief pause for the summer solstice. Time for a short trip to New Mexico, a couple hours northeast of Santa Fe, at about 7800 feet elevation. This was the highly-regarded Chuckwagon Trail Riders event. I might have been tossed off my horse on the first day of riding and had to slink around camp in bruised-ego shame for a few days. Ugh. Pilot error. Won’t happen again!
Stache, Disso, Kork, Oakie, Midnight, and Flaco (Actual assigned trail names, real names have been omitted to protect the barely innocent).
Links:
Attend the Euphoria Yoga Retreat at The Hydeout
Buy Sonocaia wine
Buy Dysfunctional Family Wine
Follow us on Instagram: @sonocaia and @kenwornick
Apr 14, 2024 | Hydeout Sonoma, Sagrantino, Sonocaia Estate, Sonocaia Estate Vineyard, Sonocaia grand opening, Sonocaia Winery, Sonoma, Sonoma Farming, Sonoma International Film Festival, Sonoma lifestyle, Sonoma Valley
You need to know what’s happening at Sonocaia Estate Winery – follow us on Instagram
@sonocaia
At Sonocaia Estate Winery, our primary focus is growing grapes and making wine, specifically our estate reserve Sagrantino, a deep dark yet incredibly drinkable red wine.
Find our winery here: Sonocaia home page
Learn about Sagrantino here: All about Sagrantino
View a brief summary of our farming projects here: Farm projects
But Sonoma is also a place with so much going on, it’s hard to keep up. Here is a quick photo journey from the past few weeks…
Bud Break @Sonocaia
You’re probably seeing photos of vineyard bud break all over social media. It’s an invigorating time for everyone involved in growing grapes and making wine. Sagrantino is a late-ripening variety. So we are just about last in line for bud break. It’s kind of like watching everyone else have their babies and wondering will ours every be born! And then boom, you’re suddenly a parent. Now begins the journey through 7 months of judicious farming…
Trashion Fashion – clothing from recycled materials
Hosted by the Sonoma Community Center, building community by offering opportunities to connect, learn, and grow, “Trashion Fashion” celebrates the intersection of fashion, art, and sustainability. There were over creative 45 entries.
This is the first time I have ever designed or made a garment of any kind. Luckily, Cynthia was a willing model. The dress, head band, train, and shopping bag are made entirely from used plastic chicken feed bags (and some trimmed pieces from potting soil bags and salt crystal bags). That’s it. We had a great time. Didn’t win any awards. But we had a good laugh! (And the boots are Cynthia’s actual chicken boots for when she actually feeds the chickens and collects eggs).
Springtime on the farm
Blooms are going crazy around the 11-acre Hydeout farm and the Sonocaia winery building. Some of these images are from our fruit trees, others from various ornamental and native plants around the farm:
Go-Kart Racing at Sears Point Sonoma Raceway
A very good friend invited me and some pals to learn how to race High Speed Go-Karts at Sears Point Sonoma Raceway. The carts sit just a few inches off the ground and fly at 60 mph. We had some great classroom time, some track sessions, more class instruction, then off to the races. The Sear Point Sonoma Raceway is just a few miles south of the town of Sonoma.
Spring vegetable garden
Nothing like growing your own food. You can do it too. Even just one tomato plant in a pot. Give it a try. I seeded our raised bed vegetable gardens in the dead of winter, and covered them with frost cloth until the last frost passed. We’re now harvesting lots of lettuce and arugula, with cabbage and onions and radishes and artichokes close behind:
Sonoma International Film Festival
The Sonoma International Film Festival just wrapped. It was a record-breaking event in terms of attendance, quality of over 100 films from around the world, and sponsorships. Sonocaia donated many of cases of wine which were poured around the various venues.
Hydeout chickens
As the weather warmed, egg production took off. In the winter they put their energy into growing down feathers and staying warm. In spring, they produce eggs like machines. And like most living things, chickens too have personalities. Some are shy and some are friendly. We have two roosters right now that guard the hen house from airborne predators, mainly hawks. Rocky (the old fella with wicked claws), and Harvey (the young buck who is very aggressive with the hens, we’ll leave it you to guess where he got his name). One day soon, Harvey will pick a fight with Rocky and they’ll fight it out for dominance.
The pretty winter weather coming into Sonoma from Petaluma
San Francisco, still worthy of a visit
I shot this photo on the side of the road last week. It was such a pretty moment. The Palace of Fine Arts is a monumental structure located in the Marina District of San Francisco, originally built for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition to exhibit works of art. It was constructed from concrete and steel, ahead of its time. Our public works projects don’t look like this anymore.
After your visit to the Sonoma Valley, cross the Golden Gate Bridge, and stop here for a photo before you head south for the SFO airport!
Keep up with the news and photos from Sonocaia on Instagram.
Just point your camera at this QR code:
Thanks for being a subscriber to this blog. See you next time!
Ken
Ken Wornick
Owner/winemaker
SONOCAIA estate winery
Insta – @Sonocaia
Blog – https://www.sonocaia.com/blog/
20656 Hyde Road
Sonoma, Ca 95476
Jan 9, 2024 | Dysfunctional Family Winery, Sagrantino, Sonocaia, Sonocaia Estate, Sonocaia grand opening, Sonocaia Winery, Sonoma, Sonoma Farming, Sonoma International Film Festival, Sonoma lifestyle, Sonoma Valley, things to do in Sonoma
In case you missed this post, it is a fun review of the holiday season in Sonoma Valley and the Sonocaia winery. Give yourself 10 minutes to catch up with wine country. Warmly, Ken Wornick
Join us for a year-end wine country photo journey in our final Sonocaia blog post of 2023:
Locals tasting event
With the help of some very wonderful friends, we sold out another ‘grand opening’ winery event – mainly for locals that missed the initial launch of Sonocaia estate winery.
I presented a story of ‘wine in context’ – when tasting wine it is important to know “why” this wine was produced. In our case, we started almost twenty five years ago in the Santa Cruz Mountains developing vineyards for private clients. A decade later we had more than 40 vineyards built and were making a lot of personalized wine for those clients in our urban winery in Redwood City. Some of those wines won Gold and Double-Gold from the SF Chronicle wine competition. We sold the vineyard development and winery businesses to an investor. See this link for more. Over the next ten years, we built a second client-based vineyard development and wine making business, this time in Sonoma Valley. And sold that business in 2023. See this link for more.
Our newest project is the Sonocaia estate winery – focussed exclusively on Sagrantino, a rare red variety of very high repute from Montefalco Umbria Italy. Meanwhile, our second brand, Dysfunctional Family Winery, still lives on with the motto “serious wine, irreverent style” offering fun blends for all taste preferences and budgets. See link here.
A sold-out crowd enjoyed the stories, wines, food, and conversation…
Working our way through the wine lineup
Answering a question about the unique clonal history of the Sonocaia Sagrantino grapevines
New friends being made all around the table
The tasting continues deep into the library wines
At the end of the tasting, a couple of wild local yahoos in their ridiculous jacked-up sport cars hit the gas and ripped up our nice new parking lot! Nah, not really, just kidding NF and GM.
But wait, there’s more…
A large, warm, and wonderful family from all over the U.S. (and three generations!) spent an afternoon with us the day after Thanksgiving ’23. We had a ball tasting through many wines, having lots of technical questions and answers about growing grapes and making wine, and generally having some great laughs. The toddler played with my guitar and beat a wine barrel with the drum sticks. Thank you Ginny and Larry.
Sonocaia in the Sonoma Index-Tribune newspaper
Our local Sonoma newspaper took an interest in our new Sonocaia winery project. Find the full article here.The author, Emma Malloy, did a great job detailing the history of our winery project. They lead with this headline: More than a winery: Sonocaia, and agricultural gem.
KSVY 91.3FM Community radio
Our local radio station KSVY 91.3FM has great wall-to-wall programming including talk, music, news, food, politics, and so much more. Not everyone is aware of the quality of the programming, yet. I’ve been a frequent guest on station manager and KSVY Exec Director Bob Taylor’s “Morning Show” many times. If you are a Sonoma local, it is well worth tuning in and supporting. They recently launched a new transmission antenna and expanded their reach from Sonoma, now reaching into Petaluma, Novato, and Napa. And last month, KSVY held a very unusual fund raiser. At the vaunted and historic Sebastiani Theatre, built in 1933, five great bands played country and western music all afternoon to the hoots and hollers of a large crowd. Learn more about KSVY here.
The crowd begins to gather at the Sebastiani Theatre
Bob Taylor, Executive Director of Sonoma community radio KSVY 91.3 (and lead guitarist of ACDC cover band “Illegitimate AC/DC”)
Patrons Diana Bugg and Leslie Carlson; and Roger Rhoten, widely beloved manager for over 30 years of the Sebastiani Theatre
Sonoma Valley Museum of Art
SVMA, our treasured Sonoma art museum, situated on Broadway very close to the Sonoma Plaza, held a very fun ‘poetry, food, and wine’ event in the museum’s gallery. Sold out weeks in advance, the poetry was provocative, warm, and hilarious. A far cry from the sleepy prose that I recall from English class in 7th grade. I poured Sonocaia and Dysfunctional Family wines at the event. See more here. Carole Copelan poured her Owl’s Perch and Harpsichord wines. And Chef Kyle Kuklewski served some delicious bites which paired beautifully with the wines and the poetry. The art in the background in some of the images below are from Richard Mayhew and the exhibition is called Inner Terrain.
Sonoma International Film Festival
Named “One of the 25 Coolest Festivals” by MovieMaker Magazine and one of “America’s Top Ten Destination Film Festivals” by USA Today, and coming up on March 20th – 24th, 2024; all passes to the Sonoma International Film Festival are on sale right now. It is a fully park-and-walk festival with great venues, truly excellent films, delicious food, and first class wine. You don’t want to miss it!
The staff and board of the film festival gathered for our holiday party. Many of Sonoma’s non-profits were also represented. And as always, the event was hosted by Kevin and Rosemary McKneely, our most important and generous patrons.
In the center, film festival board members Lisa Mango and Patty Elkus
Film festival patrons
Kevin McNeely, Executive Director Emeritus of the Sonoma Valley International Film Festival, hoists a giant Methuselah of 2018 Dysfunctional Family Winery ‘Red Blend’, equal to 6 liters or 8 bottles. The SIFF film festival and Dysfunctional have teamed up several times for outdoor movie nights on the lawn, and we’ll return to that program someday soon.
Sonoma International Film Festival – Kevin McNeely (Emeritus Creative Director), Bob Berg (Board Chair), John Curry (Emeritus Board Chair), and me, Ken Wornick (Board Vice-Chair)
Community Hanukkah
Supporting the Jewish community in their time of extreme stress, and for the right of Israel to exist, we attended a Hanukkah holiday event at the local Shir Shalom temple, then we cooked traditional potato latkes (don’t tell the cardiologists) and joined the larger Sonoma community for a public inter-faith community-wide menorah lighting and some street dancing too, on the last day of Hanukkah. The local Sonoma police and the County Sheriff’s offices blocked off a portion of Spain Street near the Plaza and provided a watchful vigil during the ceremonies, for which all attendees were quite grateful.
Below, winery client Patty Elkus submitted this beautiful image she titled “Lil Vignette of Santa and his Rosé” for the holidays. Seemed like just the right image for us to include with the Hanukkah story!
Bees and wax candle making
We put our Hydeout farm bee hives to bed for the winter, allowing the bees to build a seal around every crack and crevice of their hives, thus sheltering themselves from wind and rain and cold during the winter. Before that, we did the necessary hive work and collected some of the extra wax for various projects, seen here. I want to particularly thank Nic Freedman of Bees Rock Ranch and Chere Pafford, a renowned holistic bee keeper, both of whom acted as my mentors during this entire season.
Olives and oil
We harvested over a ton of Hydeout olives this year. Like everything on the farm, our approach is 100% organic. Due to last winters excellent rain, and the light crop in 2022, the 2023 crop was not only large, but nearly completely free of olive fruit flies. All in all a great olive harvest yielding deeply unctuous green oil.
Fall harvest – our final harvest of fruits and veggies from mid-December here at the farm
The very last of the tomatoes, persimmons, and figs picked just before the first rain (with a few peppers and some fresh eggs too).
What’s next for 2024?
The 2022 and 2023 vintages of Sagrantino are resting in barrels for the winter. The wild grasses and mustard are pushing up through the wet dirt from the recent three inches of rain. The winter solstice arrived on December 21st. Now the days get longer once again. We’ll prune the grape vines, mow the cover crop, and start in on another vintage. The 2024 vintage will be my 25th vintage.
Wishing all of you a wonderful New Year.
And when the holidays are done and things have returned to normal, we’ll still be here – ready to supply you with delicious wine. You can always order wine and pick it up at the winery. And we can ship too. Just click on this link! https://www.sonocaia.com
Happy new year everyone! – Ken
