Seven Stones Winery

Seven Stones Winery (not to be confused with the Seven Stones Winery in British Columbia, Canada) was founded by Ron and Anita Wornick (Ron passed away in 2021). Ron had a passion for both the arts and sciences and winemaking satisfies both of these avocations. During college he earned extra money as a professional trumpet player. After college he joined the army and continued to play trumpet for the Army band. While in the Army he also experimented with food science and testing a number of techniques for freeze drying food. Then later as a graduate student at MIT he worked for United Fruit Company (predecessor to Chiquita Fruit). Long after his time at United Fruit Company, the U.S. Defense Department contacted Wornick in the 1980s for help in producing the packaged food that every combat military person knows, the MRE or Meal Ready to Eat food rations (also used in the US Space Program). Wornick Co produced millions of MREs and also humanitarian rations for refugees around the world.

In late 2022, the Seven Stones property, including the winery, sold to South Korea based Hanwha Group – a major photovoltaics manufacturer, as well as owner of numerous Korea based hospitality related businesses as part of Hanwha Hotels & Resorts.

The Seven Stones estate is located on one of the truly remarkable sites within Napa Valley. Overlooking much of the northern part of the valley with its tremendous views the estate, winery and vineyards sit on a steep hillside in the eastern Vaca mountains just above Meadowood Resort. This property was part of the original ownership of nearby Meadowood Resort and then changed owners several times before the Wornick’s purchased the site (45 acres) in 1995 from Harlan Estate owner, Bill Harlan. They planted a single acre with the fruit at the time used for their personal wine. Several prominent wine couples encouraged them to take the next step and produce wine commercially, including Robert and Margrit Mondavi and Garen and Shari Staglin. The first commercial production of Seven Stones was from the 2005 vintage.

We have talked to a number of property owners during this project who moved to the valley without having any intentions of planting a vineyard much less making wine. The Wornick’s original intent was the same, to move to the valley in their retirement and build a retirement home for themselves, their children and grandchildren. However, an even smaller number of these owners fortuitously purchased property in some of Napa’s best terroir. Case in point are the vineyards of Seven Stones. This is a prestigious vineyard neighborhood with Harlan’s Napa Valley Reserve at the bottom of the hill, Herb Lamb Vineyard behind their property, the former Thorevilos Vineyard (now called Ecotone Vineyard) slightly further away as well as Ric Foreman’s own vineyard and winery.

The initial major problem with this property in establishing any sort of vineyard or winery was the lack of and difficulty in procuring water for the site. The previous owners were never able to establish any sort of permanent water source. The site sits about 700 feet above the valley floor. In order to get a reasonable amount of water to the vineyards a well had to be drilled over 850 feet down! That’s even 150 feet below the valley floor.

The winery is extremely small by Napa standards and was built with the intent of just making home wine. Before producing commercial wine, this was probably the finest “home winery” in all of Napa County. The winery building contains several small tanks in one room and several barrels in the aging room which is shared with a separate glass enclosed room which contains a limited amount of library wines.

Founding Seven Stones winemaker, one of Ron and Anita’s three sons, Kevin Wornick produced the 1999-2004 vintages. Winemaker Brad Grimes produced the 2005 and 2006 vintages (current winemaker at Abreu Vineyards). Aaron Pott has been the winemaker since 2007; Pott graduated with a degree in enology from UC Davis and a degree in viticulture from the Universite de Bourgogne in Dijon, France. He also spent a number of years in France winemaking including a year at Chateau Troplong Mondot and as head winemaker for Chateau La Tour Figeac in Saint-Emillion. Previous Napa winemaking positions included at Beringer where much of his work was overseas, St. Clement and at Quintessa. Needless to say, he has significant experience in a number of “wine worlds” including the “old world” as well as in Napa. Aaron is also an accomplished author and for several years wrote the In the Vineyard columns for the Atlantic magazine.

Winemakers often put their stylistic stamp on wines; Aaron’s ‘style’ is to let the vineyard site speak – focusing on wines that represent where they are from rather than the winemaker’s fingerprint. And regardless of vintage, these are texturally driven wines, never dominating but always a significant attribute.

The Wornick’s collected art for a number of years and amassed one of the largest private craft collections in the world. Ron was a woodworker and focused on collecting this specific type of art. The majority of this collection was given to the Boston Museum of Fine Art in 2007. The centerpiece of the estate is a huge piece of artwork; 7 massive granite stones collected from near Yosemite are interwoven together by stainless steel, situated on a small knoll on the property overlooking much of the central and northern part of Napa Valley. One side of each piece is polished while the other side is hammered, accentuating this monumental piece. This sculpture weighs in at over 100,000 pounds and is the inspiration for the name of the winery. The artist behind this unique work is Richard Deutsch, a notable sculpturist from Southern California who often creates large sized stone works of art. His commissioned works can be found in a wide variety of places from Stanford University to Oakland to Wyoming to the East Coast. Visit: www.richarddeutsch.com

During our first visit to the property, we walked the vineyards with assistant winemaker at the time, Roy Piper. Everything about the vineyard part of the property was developed on a small scale and as a result is very much managed by hand. Despite the small vineyards the soil types change remarkably even within the same block. There might be a wide range of colors from reddish to white to brown including an ash-like soil, to soils that contain huge boulders similar to icebergs in that the majority of the rock is underground. Due to the elevation (higher than the valley floor, but not too high) they do receive the moderating effects of the fog which typically burns off in the summer by mid to late morning. Their vineyards were certified organic (CCOF) in 2010.

At the time of this review there are merely 3.45 hillside acres, primarily planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, with the uppermost block planted to Cabernet Franc. The Glass Fire in 2020 burned a significant portion of the surrounding landscape including on the Seven Stones property. Two small blocks of Merlot which never performed as intended were replanted to Cabernet Sauvignon. And as a result of this fire opening up parts of their property, a small section totaling several acres may potentially be planted to grapes in the future.

The vineyards are separated into small unique blocks some of which contain just a limited number of vines. The property is composed of volcanic based soils most of which are extremely rocky. The topsoil is merely 6-12 inches and underneath that lies fractured rock. Huge D7 tractors had to initially “rip” the vineyard to break up the rock enough to allow the roots of the vines to penetrate deeper into the rock/soil.

Because of the soils or lack thereof, production is already low, however up to 40% of the existing grapes are also removed (depending on the vintage) leaving just the highest quality fruit to be used in the fermentation. Much thought went into the vineyards including the row orientation. Based on the vineyard’s exposure to the sun angles during the summer heat spells, much of the fruit is shaded from the hottest part of the day thus avoiding any sort of sunburn.

The flagship Seven Stones wine is a very limited production estate Cabernet Sauvignon – with a production of typically no more than 10 barrels resulting in a maximum yield of no more than 400 cases (usually between 200 and 400 cases). With the winery located on property their grapes are delivered within minutes of being harvested. Their focus is on using only the highest quality berries and by the time the grapes reach the stage where they can begin their fermentation, they have been sorted 4 times (including once in the vineyard just before picking).

Select Wines
Seven Stones, Cabernet Sauvignon
The 2022 Seven Stones Cabernet Sauvignon is 88% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Cabernet Franc. This wine is deep ruby and opaque. While we are not formally rating this wine, encountering the varietal characteristics of Cabernet Sauvignon in contemporary Napa Valley, always adds a few points in our mind. The bouquet is lifted and bright, showing red fruit with aromatics of currant, plum, tomato stem, red chili spice, and tobacco. It leans savory and earthy, built with character rather than just ripe fruit, which was often the hallmark of this particular vintage in Napa Valley, notable for its hot temperatures. On the palate, the wine shows flavors of dark raspberry, plum, and cherry. The tannins offer a chalky, dense character, broadly coating the palate with a persistent dryness and a firm mountain grip that far outpaces the fruit on the finish. Their texture is the lasting impression. Its élevage was 22 months in French oak barrels including Bossuet, Darnajou, Sylvain and Taransaud.

The 2021 Seven Stones Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley is 82% Cabernet Sauvignon and 18% Cabernet Franc. This wine is deep ruby and nearly opaque. This is the first vintage under new ownership. This is an elegant expression, both in terms of the bouquet and palate. The nose opens with scents of shisho mint leaf, lavender, rose petals, dark raspberry, red cherries and red plums. Light tobacco. As the wine evolves, it reveals a light barrel influence including of cocoa powder. Bright, balanced and showing a clear sense of place and presence, this wine tastes like plums, raspberry, red cherries, boysenberry and a hint of mint. The tannins are well integrated at four years post vintage. Their texture tugs at the palate with a gentle to moderate dusty grip that is felt more on the front of the palate. Finishes red fruited with a persistent freshness in tandem with texture. This wine is in a lovely space at four years post vintage, but is also clearly structured to age well. 175 cases were produced.

While wine was produced in 2020, the decision was made to not release it.

The 2018 Seven Stones Cabernet Sauvignon is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc and was aged for 22 months in new French oak barrels. Pott compares Cabernet Sauvignon to a donut; this variety has texture on the front and the back of the palate but sometimes misses out on the mid palate. That is where Cabernet Franc comes into play – to ’round’ out the mid palate. Both varieties were co-fermented together. The resulting wine is dark ruby in color and almost opaque in the glass. The bouquet is elegant and offers aromas of violets, dark plum, blackberry and old cedar box. As the bouquet evolves in the glass, it begins to open up to aromas of red cherry and some subtle clove spice. The finish is long lasting and savory with a noticeable persistent grip of earthy, dusty and gravelly textured dark tannins. The wine also lingers with flavors of red cherry, shows bright acidity and notes of crushed peppercorn. It is a big but balanced mountain bottling with loads of life ahead of it.

The 2014 Seven Stones Cabernet Sauvignon is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc. This wine is deep ruby; we tried this wine almost 10 years post vintage at a time when many of the 2014 Napa Valley red bottlings are in a sweet spot. This vintage in general won’t age as well as some due to the overall softer profile of the season. This wine smells fresh, with plenty of primary fruit aromas still showing on the bouquet, including scents of raspberry, red cherry and strawberry. The fruit aromatics are very much pronounced and dominate any influence found from its barrel aging. Built on the backbone of bright acidity, the palate features primarily red-fruited flavors of sour cherry, currant and cranberry. The tannins are lightly grainy and fully coat the palate. Finishes vivacious with a tartness, dried tobacco leaf and a lasting drying character. This bottling shows plenty of life 10 years in, with still several years ahead of it before it starts peaking.

The 2006 Seven Stones Cabernet Sauvignon (316 cases) is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot. This wine is dark ruby in the glass. The bouquet shows notes of graphite, mineralities and a crushed rock component along with elegant fruit. The wine is soft and smooth on entry and is focused and balanced from start to finish. Part of this balance stems from how well the oak integrates with the fruit. This is a wine that walks a nice line between the riper fruit forward wines and those that are more restrained. More red fruit shows than dark fruit (although there are nice notes of blackberry); the wine is velvety throughout with a pleasing long finish anchored by fine grained tannins. There is a softness yet at the same time a richness to the palate, which is part of what makes this wine so intriguing.

Collection by Seven Stones Cabernet Sauvignon
The inaugural vintage of Collection by Seven Stones Cabernet Sauvignon was in 2022.

The 2023 The Collection by Seven Stones Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley is 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Cabernet Franc and 2% Malbec. This wine is deep ruby and nearly opaque; the bouquet is immediately intriguing, a union of both ripe, yet fresh fruit and barrel influences. These scents include Santa Rosa plum, boysenberry, blackberry, dark cherry, mulberry and dark currant. And its non fruited aromatic notes are of rose petals, a hint of vanilla, milk chocolate, a light toast, sage, and sweet tobacco spice. Well layered. And like the bouquet, the palate is a pleasing union of both fruit and barrel. This wine tastes like spiced plum, blackberry, dark cherry, boysenberry, cinnamon stick, cloves and mint. The densely packed tannins are felt with a broadly coating character; they are never edgy or course but showcase a well tumbled texture that persists with a firm dusty and drying grip, far outlasting the fruit on the finish. 1200 cases were produced this year. The label features an image by the talented Columbian based artist, Olga de Amaral.

In 2023 for the first time, Seven Stones produced a second bottling as The Collection by Seven Stones, Spring Mountain District. The image on this label was created by artist Kyoungtae Kim – based on an arrowhead discovered on the property.

Chardonnay
The first Seven Stones white wine ever made was produced in 2025. This wine was a result of a phone call that Aaron received from winemaker and his mentor, John Kongsgaard who mentioned that Hudson Vineyard had some Chardonnay available that year. Hudson is one of the most premium vineyards on the Napa side of Carneros. Naturally Aaron said yes to the request; this wine will continue to be produced each year.

Artist in Residence Program
The Seven Stones Artist in Residence Program was founded in 2024 by JY Lee, Director, Marketing and Business Development for Seven Stones. She joined their small team in 2023. After spending some time on the property and seeing how the fog interacts with this part of Napa Valley, she was inspired to start this unique program. Her goal was to initially work with and showcase emerging artists – typically young artists at the beginning of their career.

The first year she targeted artists based in Korea and subsequently opened the program to artists of Korean heritage. And starting in 2027 the program will expand to include non Korean artists. Artists are identified for this program who will value time spent on the property and enjoy being in nature. Artists have included photographers, a ceramicist and painters. Typically two to three artists live on the property each year for 30 day residencies in the pool house.

They create art by drawing both visual and emotional inspiration from the property and Napa Valley which especially utilizing natural themes. One artist used physical items from the property, such as rocks and wood to create individual pieces of art. And during their stay, they are encouraged to visit with guests on the property.

Artist are selected one of two ways: answering an open call with professors and museum curators involved in reviewing applications and making the selections. And by-invitation, doing advance research before reaching out to the artist directly to see if the program would be a good fit for them.

Each artist brings a fresh perspective and their own backgrounds to the program, utilizing the property as inspiration for their work.

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Because of their small production the majority of their wines are sold via an allocation list although one can sometimes find select older vintages at fine wine online retailers such as Aabalat. Select bottlings have also been available in a couple of fine-dining restaurants in Napa Valley. This winery is private and sees a very limited number of visitors. For more information and to join the allocation list, please visit: www.sevenstoneswinery.com

Winery

Vineyards

Seven Stones Winery, Similkameen Valley, British Columbia Canada
This winery is in no way related to Seven Stones Winery in Napa Valley other than both wineries share the same name. Also, their site features a few nomenclatural similarities to Napa Valley; their property contains a river they refer to as the Oxbow (reference the Oxbow in Napa) and a nearby mountain ridge is called Sleeping Lady (reference Sleeping Lady Vineyard in Yountville) in homage to its geographical features resembling a sleeping lady. Ron Wornick passed in 2021 and the founder of this Seven Stones Winery, George Hanson, also passed in 2021.

The name of this winery comes from a Native America folktale referencing seven different stones ranging from above ground to below ground referencing specific characteristics. These seven stones are: the speaking rock, standing rock, fire stone, bromley rock, witch stone, castle rock and the rain stone.

The property features surrounding hillside estate vineyards, excellent views from their deck overlooking the Similkameen Valley and a small cave used for aging wines as well as hosting a limited number of private events. They produce a variety of wines and are known for offering visitors older vintages. Driving distance to Seven Stones Winery from Vancouver is a little more than 4 hours and from Kelowona, about 2 hours.

Hydeout Sonoma/Dysfunctional Winery
Kevin Wornick has been involved in the wine business for many years. Originally, he was a geologist for Bechtel in the 1980s, a privately held San Francisco based company. Kevin has since founded several wine businesses including Post & Trellis Vineyards in which his company developed more than 150 acres of vineyards in the San Francisco Bay Area and several years later, La Honda Winery in Redwood City (which is still in business, but Kevin has since sold it).

Today he operates Hydeout Sonoma, a vineyard development, management and consulting company with clients primarily in Sonoma County but also select clients in neighboring counties. Home base for the business is the 11-acre Hydeout Sonoma Farm (on Hyde Road), about 4 miles from the Sonoma Plaza and a short drive to several well-known wineries including Scribe, Gundlach Bundschu or Buena Vista wineries. Hydeout Sonoma is where he and his wife Cynthia operate two vacation rentals (available on VRBO) and grow Sagratino, a red highly tannic Italian variety.

The site is also home of Dysfunctional Family Winery, a small producer of both estate Sagratino and other wines from primarily the Sonoma Valley and Carneros regions. And followers of Seven Stones will be interested in the following: one unique bottling from the Seven Stones property is the 2000 Senots Yendik, Napa Valley (spell the name of this wine backwards and it reads: Stones Kidney. It was aged 24 months in new French oak and then 18 years in bottle before it was finally released!