Historic winery, part of Wilson Artisan Wines, loses tasting room while its iconic barn and statue still stands
In the early morning hours of October 27, 2019, the Kincade Fire reached Soda Rock Winery in Healdsburg’s Alexander Valley resulting in the loss of the 150 year old building that served as a tasting room. While the side buildings and a historic house were lost, the Soda Rock barn, home to numerous weddings and events, remained untouched. Lord Snort, the 40 foot-long steel sculpture of a wild boar, remained intact. All employees had safely evacuated.
Soda Rock Winery had employed eight employees which the company is currently reassigning to other wineries within the Wilson Artisan Wines portfolio. A large portion of the Soda Rock Winery wines were stored off site with other wines from the Wilson Artisan Wines portfolio at a third-party shipping facility.
Soda Rock Winery had completed most of the 2019 harvest vintage prior to the Kincade Fire. Therefore, the juice that was in production was not affected by the fire and will not experience any smoke taint.
“Our thoughts are with all of those who have lost residences and businesses, and who are evacuated without access to power,” said Proprietor Ken Wilson. “Our thanks to the first responders over the past week and always is immeasurable.”
Proprietors Ken and Diane Wilson are currently processing the damages of Soda Rock and considering plans for the future, noting, “It’s not just a building that you can replace by rebuilding with a construction crew. It was a historic structure with hidden soul and grace that needed sensitive nurturing to bring it back to its worthy place in history which took us several years to complete. There are years of passion, love, and sacrifice that have gone into creating a place worthy of that history.”
SODA ROCK WINERY PRESS CONFERENCE HOSTED BY KEN WILSON
Monday, November 4, 2019
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Location: Soda Rock Winery
8015 Highway 128
Healdsburg, CA
Members of the media are asked to RSVP to Katie Ambrosi at katie@WilsonArtisanWines.com
