The Retreat at SōNA Estate

Candice and Dennis Brown met in college, married, have 4 adult children and a growing group of grandchildren. Their careers took them overseas to three different countries for twenty three years. While on assignment in Australia, they developed an interest in wine. Their travels are reflected in the furnishing of The Retreat.

Candice and Dennis followed their oldest son, Brian down to Paso Robles from Napa. They sold their small vineyard in Oakville, in Napa Valley, and bought the 4080 Vineyard Drive property in 2016. The following year they bought the 3995 Willow Creek property and SōNA Estate was born. The family then embarked on improving Sona Estate. They started with planting 4 acres of vineyards. Additional vineyards are being added in alternate years. The soil preparation for the vineyards has uncovered a multitude of Adelaide rock that was used to added several thousand linear feet of rock walls. During the same time period, the 3995 Willow Creek Road house was remodeled and expanded to include The Retreat. After five years of planning, approvals and construction the winery was built. Renovating the 2 houses and barn on the Vineyard Drive property are next on the To Do list.

The Willow Creek Wine Co. is located on SōNA Estate. Brian and Natalie Brown are the owners and talent behind the award winning wine brands of Willow Creek Wine CO. Both winemakers professionally, the two already produced wine under multiple brands. Currently, they produce In Medias Res, Rococo Wines, Soubrette Wines, and Emerson Brown Wines. Although they have different winemaking educations, the two see eye to eye on stylistic decisions and technical details. Ultimately, their promise to each other is to never bottle a wine that they wouldn't drink themselves.

In 2017, Brian and Natalie planted four acres of vineyard to Syrah and Petite Sirah. These Rhône varietals grow well on the west side of Paso Robles, but the selections of vines are very unique. The cuttings came from the Library vineyard in St Helena, farmed by Turley Wine Cellars. Since these vines contain some of the oldest clonal material in California, they are arguably the most adapted to our terroir. In 2019, they planted an additional six acres of vineyard to multiple clonal selections sourced directly from UC Davis. Some of these cuttings were selections that, like SōNA's initial planting, have existed in California for generations but were not available through commercial nurseries.

Sona Estate is located in the Willow Creek District of the Paso Robles AVA. The Willow Creek District is one of eleven sub-districts in the greater Paso Robles AVA, and is one of the most popular districts to visit with over 40 wineries calling the region home. Located on the west side of Highway 101, Willow Creek sits between the Adelaida and Templeton Gap Districts with the cities of Paso Robles and Templeton directly to the East.

This geographic location allows the wineries that call Willow Creek home to benefit from the mountainous terrain and coastal weather influences, and produce some of the best Rhone varietals in the Paso Robles AVA.