Eric Ogorsolka

The Path

Wine training at the University of California, Davis gave Eric Ogorsolka the technical base for a career built step by step. A part-time job at Wild Horse Winery in Paso Robles (from 1990) was the first working proof of that path, and Kendall-Jackson added another stage of practical experience. The result is a career shaped through repetition and accumulation, with each stop reinforcing the one before it. Ownership at Zenaida Cellars (since 1998) places Eric in direct control of the work, from cellar direction to the details that land in the glass. That sequence — student, working hand, then owner-winemaker — reads less like a leap than a steady progression through the trade.

The Work Today

“There is mostly a feeling of calm and clarity I get from surfing. This helps open a door into my creativity when I'm at the winery.” That balance between movement and stillness sits close to the way Eric Ogorsolka approaches the cellar. Surfing provides the clear headspace; the winery turns that into decision-making. The two disciplines are different in setting, but alike in what they demand: attention, timing, and the ability to work without forcing the result.

Signature

Eric's signature wines include Zephyr, Fire Sign, Pink, and Backyard Red. Those names point to a style of naming that is direct and approachable, and they mark the public face of Zenaida Cellars. In that range of wines, Eric Ogorsolka’s work presents itself through identity as much as through placement: the label signals the register, and the bottle carries it through.

In Their Words “There is mostly a feeling of calm and clarity I get from surfing. This helps open a door into my creativity when I'm at the winery.” These lines map the practical structure of Eric Ogorsolka’s career: frustration redirected into a job, then into experience, then into a long-term role at Zenaida Cellars (since 1998). The throughline is not drama but persistence, with each move adding a layer to the work.