Sonoma Brought Me Back to Tennis—and Into the Wine Business - Chuck Kucserka
Chuck’s Sonoma Journey — I Found & Lived Page
This is the first of two stories about Chuck’s relationship with Sonoma Valley.
🟩 Sonoma Brought Me Back to Tennis—and Into the Wine Business – Chapter 1
(You are reading this story.)
🟥 Coming Back to Sonoma for the Summer – Chapter 2
Click the story title above to continue Chuck’s journey as he returns to his former community for a month, escapes the Palm Desert heat and discovers how Sonoma has changed.
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After living in San Anselmo for 38 years, Chuck Kucerka and his wife, Gretchen, moved to Creekside, just outside Sonoma. During their seven years there, Chuck returned to tennis after 45 years away from the game and discovered that pouring wine at Ravenswood and Larson Family Winery was one of the best jobs he had ever had.
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My name is Chuck Kucerka. I was born and raised in San Francisco, where I met my wife, Gretchen, 56 years ago. We have now been married for 55 years.
After living in San Anselmo for 38 years, Gretchen and I moved to Creekside, just outside Sonoma. We chose Sonoma because we loved it, and we lived there for seven years.
My professional career was in the technology industry. I was a headhunter and owned a company called Technology Resources. We recruited salespeople for IBM and other technology companies.
Living in Sonoma gave me an opportunity to try something completely different. I poured wine at Ravenswood and Larson Family Winery to earn some discretionary money. It was a ball. Pouring wine at those wineries was a highlight of my life and probably one of the best jobs I ever had.
Sonoma also brought me back to tennis. I had not played in 45 years, but I started playing again while living at Creekside. The hand-eye coordination I regained through tennis later helped me become a pickleball player.
Shortly before COVID, Gretchen and I moved to Palm Desert. We loved the desert, and housing there was more affordable at the time. But moving away did not end our connection to Sonoma.
Several years later, we returned—not as permanent residents, but to spend the month of August in the community we once called home.
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Chuck’s story shows how living in Sonoma can open unexpected chapters in a person’s life. After a career recruiting salespeople for technology companies, he found one of his favorite jobs pouring wine at two local wineries.
Creekside also gave him a place to rediscover tennis after 45 years away from the sport. That experience eventually helped him take up pickleball in Palm Desert.
Although Chuck and Gretchen moved away, the connections he formed through Sonoma’s wine community and his life at Creekside gave them reasons to return.
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This story was created from an interview with Chuck Kucerka conducted by Don Lundgren. Chuck’s words have been edited for length and clarity while preserving his voice, experiences and meaning.
