by Victoria Skinner

L to R: Don Modica and Ken Wornick. Photo credit: Victoria Skinner

It was seven years ago when the partnership between Don Modica and Ken Wornick began its amazing start, and it has been one exciting development after another ever since. Don Modica, La Honda resident and landscaper, says, “It all started when I wanted to put in grapes on the side of the hill on a couple of my 9 acres. A mutual friend introduced us and then I hired Ken, from Post and Trellis Vineyards, to come up to my house and show me what he could do. I had some of my guys from my landscaping business help him dig and put in the vines, etc. He saw that my guys knew what they were doing and so it began.”

Wornick says, “By the time I met Don I had 12 private vineyards under management. However, my dream was to start a little winery of my own.” Coming from a background in geology, with a master’s in business, he went back to school at the University of California, Davis to learn all he could about the winemaking business. 

Gesturing to the beautiful space on Fair Oaks in Redwood City which now houses three businesses together — Modica Landscaping, Post and Trellis Vineyard, and La Honda Winery — Wornick says, “Don had the vision to want to buy the building for his business, Modica Landscaping, and maybe a winery. It was the old A-1 Plumbing and Heating building and it looked nothing like this. This is all Don.” The building has beautiful stonework arches, soaring wood ceilings and a two-story art gallery; it also serves as Modica Landscaping’s showroom, allowing clients to see the stonework the business offers. The interior, in addition to the beautiful wood, is a blend of flagstone, ledger stone, slate and paving stone.

All three companies work together in a seemingly flawless conglomeration of the best of each. For example, Wornick’s Post and Trellis does the design and installation of vines. But Post and Trellis is assisted by the people and equipment from Modica Landscaping, which, in turn, garners its own clients, who often need stonework and landscaping to enhance what Post and Trellis does. Post and Trellis manages the vineyards, doing the weeding, trimming and spraying (which is all done sustainably). The grapes are harvested, and 100 percent of the grapes come back to La Honda Winery where the wine is made on site in the building  designed and built by Don Modica.

Wornick says, “There are essentially two equations here. Equation 1: The clients love their fruit and want to keep 100 percent. They pay for design, installation, bottling, private label. They get back cases of wine, which most clients use for private consumption, auctions, etc. Then there is Equation 2: We get 100 percent of the fruit and the client gets back a certain percentage of the finished product for free. The larger percentage goes under our La Honda Winery label with the designated vineyard at the bottom.” And there is always a third option, which is design and installation of vines only. Modica and   Wornick agree that most small designer vineyards are not run by winemakers; it is primarily a hobby, so either Equation 1 or Equation 2 works best for all parties. 

La Honda Winery produces many different varietals; pinot noir is the highest-volume grape, followed by cabernet sauvignon, syrah, and chardonnay. The winery also bottles a nice sauvignon blanc, a sangiovese, a viognier, a merlot and a meritage, which is a blend of Bordeaux varietals. In the 2008 Santa Cruz Mountains Commercial Wine Competition, the winery won three silver medals — for its chardonnay, cabernet, and viognier — and a bronze for its pinot noir.

La Honda Winery is a great marriage of the vision of two men. They are both very appreciative of the other’s abilities and talents. Modica says, “Ken provides the brains and we provide the brawn.” Wornick says, “La Honda Winery is unique in the world. No one else does what we do.”