Our Story

In 1961 when Walter Byck married Marijke Hoenselaars in Holland, little did the newlyweds know what their future would hold. Yet their courage and passion would lead them to discover and build a wine estate in the heart of the world’s finest grape growing region, the Russian River Valley.

Walter and Marijke moved to Santa Rosa in 1965, with two of their five children already in tow. They soon realized they had found a haven to raise their growing family. In 1978, after more than a year of searching for a family property, Walter came home and said, “Marijke, children, I have seen Paradise!” Thereafter, the 155 acres overlooking the Russian River Valley in Sonoma County, California became known as Paradise Ranch.

With a love of wine, combined with an appreciation for the incredible region they now called home, our parents were inspired to cultivate vineyards. In the first year, Sauvignon Blanc was planted followed by Chardonnay. Recognizing the quality of these vineyards, our family was encouraged to start their own winery. After five years of planning, the dream of Paradise Ridge became a reality. Opened in May of 1994, the Paradise Ridge estate is a haven where guests bring their friends to savor vineyard-designated wines and take in sweeping wine country views.

We lost our mother and leader Marijke Byck-Hoenselaars in 2006 yet our Paradise Ridge Family continues to be inspired to carry on her rich tradition of sharing the bounty of Paradise. Our strength was again tested in October of 2017 when our estate tasting room and events building, as well as our winemaking building were destroyed in the fires. Luckily our vineyards and art survived and became a source of comfort to our community. We are currently planning to rebuild the tasting room and events building and hope to reopen in the fall of 2019.

While we rebuild we hope you will visit us at our tasting room in Kenwood, we would LOVE to see you.

Rene Byck & Sonia Byck-Barwick
Siblings & Co-Owners