Sarah Wuethrich

Coming Up

Sarah Wuethrich trained at University of California, Davis (2001) and Sonoma State University Wine Business Institute (2025), building a foundation that paired technical rigor with a broader understanding of the business surrounding the bottle. Her path into the industry began in earnest as Lab Tech at St. Francis Winery in Sonoma Valley (2001–2005), a role that would have demanded discipline, focus, and a steady command of detail—qualities that would later become central to her winemaking identity. From there, her career gathered momentum across a series of roles that deepened both her practical experience and her creative range. She later became co-founder of a wine label at Nakedwines.com and served as Assistant Winemaker at Copain Wines (2010–2017), before taking on her current roles as winemaker of Maggy Hawk (since 2017) and winemaker of WindRacer. Across those years, her trajectory has been marked by a steady move toward greater authorship, with each stop adding another layer to a career built on close work, careful listening, and a clear sense of place.

Where They Are Now

Wuethrich is a winemaker at Maggy Hawk in Philo, United States. The setting itself suggests the kind of work she favors: vineyard differences matter, nuance matters, and the day-to-day practice of making wine is as much about interpretation as intervention. Her role is rooted in the steady accumulation of knowledge—what the site gives, what each block offers, and how to shape that into wines with clarity and presence.

Signature

Sarah's signature wines include White Pinot Noir, 2018 Maggy Hawk Skycrest Chardonnay, 2018 Maggy Hawk Jolie Pinot Noir, and 2018 Maggy Hawk Stormin' Pinot Noir. Together, they sketch a portrait of a winemaker drawn to both delicacy and depth, with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir serving as canvases for her measured, detail-oriented style. The names alone evoke a range of expression, from the lifted brightness suggested by White Pinot Noir to the layered specificity of the 2018 Maggy Hawk Skycrest Chardonnay, 2018 Maggy Hawk Jolie Pinot Noir, and 2018 Maggy Hawk Stormin' Pinot Noir.

In Their Words “Part of my approach is treating each vineyard, even each block and clone, as its own separate entity; really dissecting and getting to know what and where I’m making wine from.” “I like to foot tread my Chardonnay grapes before loading them into the press.” Taken together, these words capture a winemaker who favors intimacy over abstraction, and who sees great value in paying attention at the smallest scale. For Sarah Wuethrich, winemaking begins with a relationship—to the vineyard, to the block, to the clone, and finally to the fruit itself. The result is a practice that feels both analytical and deeply physical, grounded in the kind of careful work that turns observation into style.

Recognition

Sarah Wuethrich has received North Bay Business Journal, Women in Wine Award: Excellence in Winemaking (2023).