Soda Rock is the historic Alexander Valley store and post office, site of the first bonded winery in 1880. Ken and Diane Wilson restored it in 2000; the facility burned in the 2019 Kincade Fire, but the century-old barn survived. Bordeaux varietals from Wilson vineyards across Alexander and Dry Creek.
The Soda Rock property is one of the oldest continuously used wine sites in Alexander Valley. Henry Delano Fitch first owned the land through the Mexican government's 1841 Rancho Sotoyome land grant; Cyrus Alexander — the man for whom the valley is named — scouted it for him. The first bonded winery here was established in 1880; the general store and post office that anchored Alexander Valley followed, with J.W. Collins running the store and post office from 1873. Tom Meeks built up the property into one of the region's most modern wineries in 1904 before Prohibition shut it down. The Tomka family briefly revived it in the 1980s. By 2000, when Ken and Diane Wilson purchased the property, it had fallen into serious disrepair.
Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley — The flagship; big and bold, like the historic property's past.
Wentworth Zinfandel — Named for Fred Wentworth, who ran the Alexander Valley general store here around 1870.
Meritage Bordeaux Blend — A red blend of the estate's Cabernet, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Franc.
Petite Sirah — A dark, structured red from the Bordeaux-focused lineup.
Sauvignon Blanc — A crisp white poured in the restored historic winery, the site of a bonded winery since 1880.
The Wilsons launched a decade-long restoration using recycled and green materials, painstakingly preserving the historic stone walls, the gambrel-roof house, and the distinctive water tower. The main tasting facility burned to the ground in the October 2019 Kincade Fire, but the 100-year-old wedding barn and the wooden "Soda Rock" letters on the stone façade survived. The Wilsons have not rebuilt the main winery — production moved to sister property Mazzocco Winery, which now produces all 5,000 cases of Soda Rock wine annually. Tastings continue at the surviving barn on the Highway 128 property and at the downtown Healdsburg tasting room in the Old Roma Station, next door to sister brand Pezzi King. The wine focus is Bordeaux varietals — estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc — made by Diane Wilson and Antoine Favero from vineyards across Alexander and Dry Creek Valleys.
Soda Rock is part of the family-owned Wilson Artisan Wineries, founded by Diane and Ken Wilson, who launched their flagship Wilson Winery in 1993 and built a portfolio of Dry Creek, Alexander Valley, and Rockpile estates. Award-winning founding winemaker Diane Wilson oversees winemaking across the group, with Antoine Favero serving as Soda Rock's day-to-day winemaker. French-born and raised partly in coastal Peru before settling in Sonoma at age nine, the UC Davis–trained Favero specializes in the Bordeaux varieties, Zinfandel, and Primitivo that define Soda Rock. The historic Alexander Valley winery's stone façade survived the 2019 Kincade fire; its wines are now produced at the Wilsons' Mazzocco facility while the landmark site is rebuilt.
Ken Wilson is the proprietor who rescued Soda Rock. With his wife, Diane, he runs the Healdsburg-based Wilson Artisan Wineries, and in 2000 the couple bought the long-neglected Alexander Valley landmark — a property whose first bonded winery dates to 1880 and which once served as the valley’s general store and post office. Over a decade Ken painstakingly restored its stone buildings with reclaimed materials. When the 2019 Kincade Fire destroyed the main building, he resolved to rebuild; tastings continue from the surviving historic barn and a downtown Healdsburg room, with the landmark stone facade and the steel boar “Lord Snort” still standing.
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Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley — The flagship; big and bold, like the historic property's past.
Wentworth Zinfandel — Named for Fred Wentworth, who ran the Alexander Valley general store here around 1870.
Meritage Bordeaux Blend — A red blend of the estate's Cabernet, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Franc.
Petite Sirah — A dark, structured red from the Bordeaux-focused lineup.
Sauvignon Blanc — A crisp white poured in the restored historic winery, the site of a bonded winery since 1880.
The Soda Rock property is one of the oldest continuously used wine sites in Alexander Valley. Henry Delano Fitch first owned the land through the Mexican government's 1841 Rancho Sotoyome land grant; Cyrus Alexander — the man for whom the valley is named — scouted it for him. The first bonded winery here was established in 1880; the general store and post office that anchored Alexander Valley followed, with J.W. Collins running the store and post office from 1873. Tom Meeks built up the property into one of the region's most modern wineries in 1904 before Prohibition shut it down. The Tomka family briefly revived it in the 1980s. By 2000, when Ken and Diane Wilson purchased the property, it had fallen into serious disrepair.
The Wilsons launched a decade-long restoration using recycled and green materials, painstakingly preserving the historic stone walls, the gambrel-roof house, and the distinctive water tower. The main tasting facility burned to the ground in the October 2019 Kincade Fire, but the 100-year-old wedding barn and the wooden "Soda Rock" letters on the stone façade survived. The Wilsons have not rebuilt the main winery — production moved to sister property Mazzocco Winery, which now produces all 5,000 cases of Soda Rock wine annually. Tastings continue at the surviving barn on the Highway 128 property and at the downtown Healdsburg tasting room in the Old Roma Station, next door to sister brand Pezzi King. The wine focus is Bordeaux varietals — estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc — made by Diane Wilson and Antoine Favero from vineyards across Alexander and Dry Creek Valleys.
Soda Rock is part of the family-owned Wilson Artisan Wineries, founded by Diane and Ken Wilson, who launched their flagship Wilson Winery in 1993 and built a portfolio of Dry Creek, Alexander Valley, and Rockpile estates. Award-winning founding winemaker Diane Wilson oversees winemaking across the group, with Antoine Favero serving as Soda Rock's day-to-day winemaker. French-born and raised partly in coastal Peru before settling in Sonoma at age nine, the UC Davis–trained Favero specializes in the Bordeaux varieties, Zinfandel, and Primitivo that define Soda Rock. The historic Alexander Valley winery's stone façade survived the 2019 Kincade fire; its wines are now produced at the Wilsons' Mazzocco facility while the landmark site is rebuilt.
Ken Wilson is the proprietor who rescued Soda Rock. With his wife, Diane, he runs the Healdsburg-based Wilson Artisan Wineries, and in 2000 the couple bought the long-neglected Alexander Valley landmark — a property whose first bonded winery dates to 1880 and which once served as the valley’s general store and post office. Over a decade Ken painstakingly restored its stone buildings with reclaimed materials. When the 2019 Kincade Fire destroyed the main building, he resolved to rebuild; tastings continue from the surviving historic barn and a downtown Healdsburg room, with the landmark stone facade and the steel boar “Lord Snort” still standing.
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