Kunde Family Winery

Family owned and operated, Kunde Estate Winery & Vineyards produces ultra-premium, estate-grown, and sustainably farmed wines in the finest traditions of the renowned Sonoma Valley. Our founder, Louis Kunde, who emigrated from Germany, acquired the Wildwood Vineyards ranch with its acclaimed iron-rich, ancient red volcanic soils in 1904. These vineyards were first planted in 1879 by pioneer John Drummond with imported cuttings from Chateaux Margaux and Lafite Rothschild. Upon Louis' death in 1922, the winery and vineyards were taken over by his son, Arthur "Big Boy" Kunde. Big Boy kept the winery open during the difficult times of Prohibition by selling "sacramental" wines, and though he continued to grow grapes through World War II, he was forced to close the winery doors when his sons were drafted into service. Throughout the 1960's and '70's, two of Big Boy's sons, Bob and Fred, greatly expanded the Kunde Estate, adding the esteemed Kinneybrook Ranch in 1977. Planting hundreds of acres to prime varietals, their hard work and savvy business decisions laid the groundwork for building the Kunde Estate Winery and aging caves in the early 1990's. In October 2004, three-generations of the Kunde family gathered with friends to celebrate our 100th harvest, and to honor all the hard work and dedication that came through us and before us. As we enter the next century of winegrowing, the fourth and fifth generation family members remain hands-on proprietors. We now oversee an operation comprised of our state-of-the-art winemaking facility and 1,850 contiguous acres, of which 700 acres are planted to more than twenty different varieties of wine grapes.