Co-founded by trailblazing viticulturist Diane Kenworthy and her husband Robert Burney, Sunbreak is unique in that in addition to traditional farming and vineyard management expertise, we have an extensive winery-based viticulture background including grower relations which allows us to better understand winemaker grape requirements and goals in today’s marketplace.
Passionate about wine growing
Sunbreak Vineyard Services was founded in 2007 to serve the needs of small vineyard owners and winemaker-owned vineyards in Sonoma Valley. Our philosophy is to grow excellent wine grapes through sustainable farming practices and to see the process through the eyes of the winemaker. We specialize in old or heritage vines as well as modern, trellised vineyards.
Dedicated to our environment
Sunbreak is all about sustainable vineyard management. Our approach is not just cosmetic. We respect the ecosystem in every vineyard and apply the highest standards of wine growing sustainability.
Focused on detail
Sunbreak is hands-on in vineyard care. We pay attention to every detail using both innovative and proven techniques whether in design, engineering, management, maintenance repair work and day to day vineyard activity.
Proud of our team
Sunbreak Vineyard Services has put together an amazing team of talent to entrust the design, overseeing, and care of your vineyard:
Diane Kenworthy, Principal, Sunbreak Vineyard Services
Diane Kenworthy and her dad started making home made wine when she was 13 years old. Together, they crafted wine with the classics– strawberry, blackberry, rosehip… all from an English recipe book. But when Diane entered UC Davis aspiring to be a winemaker, it didn’t take long to realize her heart was outdoors in the vineyards. She earned a BS in Plant Science (Viticulture Option).
Diane traveled and worked in France, helped her father put in a vineyard in Amador County and went to work in the Mount Veeder vineyards owned by Domaine Chandon. Her real vineyard education came from the winemaking community where she was fortunate to work with some of the best minds in the industry; people who combined passion for the product with integrity and vision.
One mentor was Zelma Long. In 1981, Diane went to work for Zelma at Simi Winery. Along with a group of leading viticulturists in Napa and Sonoma, they founded the North Coast Viticultural Research Group which funded research at UC Davis in how what was done in the vineyards affected wine quality. They tried different rootstocks, planting density, canopy management, plant materials and more, which ultimately impacted the course of winegrowing.
After 15 years at Simi, Diane became Vineyard Manager for Rex Hill Winery in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. During this time, she served as the first woman president of the American Society for Enology and Viticulture.
Returning to Sonoma, Diane became Vineyard Manager and Grower Relations Director at Ravenswood Winery where she worked side by side with another winemaker icon, Joel Peterson, the “Godfather of Zin”. When Constellation Wines purchased Ravenswood, Diane continued as a Director of Grower Relations until she decided the time was right to start her own business. She took over managing the Bedrock Vineyards, Joel, his wife Madeleine Deininger, and his son Morgan Twain-Peterson’s 152 acre historical vineyard in the heart of the Sonoma Valley. With her husband Robert Burney, Sunbreak Vineyard Services was born in 2007.
Robert Burney, Principal, Sunbreak Vineyard Services
Robert Burney was born and raised in Napa before it was dominated by the wine industry and grew up in construction. One of their projects was helping to build the Robert Mondavi Winery. Construction evolved into dumptruck and agricultural trucking which helped finance his education when he headed off to UC Davis. Robert earned a BS and MS in Materials Engineering.
While at Davis, Robert joined an on-call “Organized Crew” to work in wildland firefighting with the U.S. Forest Service. This led to contract forestry and lead sawyer on a Category 1 firecrew known as “Hotshots”, a coherent team that specializes in clearing fire line and literally fighting fire with fire. Robert’s crew served in 6 western states.
When Robert met and married Diane Kenworthy, opportunities arose to work in the wine business. His Hotshot crew experience provided the perfect foundation to join a vineyard crew. While individual training, experience and stamina are key, working together as a team in close proximity with just a little direction, total respect and support yields amazing results.
Robert started out on a crew retrofitting a small vineyard to a split canopy trellis which quickly led to vineyard management. He then started his own business concentrating on vineyard irrigation.
In 1997, Robert and Diane moved to Oregon’s Willamette Valley for 3 years to manage all phases of Rex Hill Winery’s vineyard estate. Upon returning to Sonoma, Robert resumed his irrigation business until joining Diane in establishing Sunbreak Vineyard Services in 2007.
Alberto Arellano Rojas, “Mayordomo”, Sunbreak Vineyard Services.
Alberto Rojas is a true American success story. In 1982, he came to California from his native home in Michoacan, Mexico and settled into Sonoma. He landed his first job picking pears for the Sangiacomos in one of the last pear orchards in Sonoma Valley.
Alberto turned his focus to winegrape growing, working at Kunde, Beltane, Madrone Vineyard Management and Sebastiani Vineyards where he acquired vast skills and experience. For the past 20 years, he worked at what is now Bedrock Vineyards, a 100 year old, 152 acre which Sunbreak manages. He knows Sonoma Valley like the back of his hands.
Alberto became a U.S. citizen in 2003. He joined Sunbreak Vineyard Services at our inception in 2007 and is a tremendous asset, not only because of his knowledge of the vines, but also his amazing people skills. Alberto leads our team workers on a daily basis and also maintains strong connections with other crew leaders and workers in the Valley so that during crunch times, like harvest, he can coordinate trading crews with our neighbors to assure all work can be accomplished within a winery’s exacting schedule.
Industry Associations
American Society for Enology and Viticulture, ASEV. Served on Board, Past President
Sonoma County Vineyard Technical Group. Served on Board, Past President
Sonoma County Wine Grape Commission, Committee Member
North Coast Viticulture Research Group, Chair
Napa Valley Technical Group
Chemeketa Community College, taught Advanced Viticulture
Community Service
Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance “Stand by Me” Mentor
Sonoma County Master Gardener
Sonoma Valley Grange