The private members club plans a resort near Kenwood featuring cottages, dining and wellness facilities, with an opening targeted for 2027.

If you’ve been half-paying attention to Sonoma Valley lately, you know it’s been quietly doing its thing while Napa and Healdsburg grab the headlines. But this week brought news that could actually shake things up: Soho House is headed to wine country.

Not a tasting room. Not a pop-up. A full resort, right here in the valley — likely on that 350-acre site near Kenwood that’s been stuck in development limbo for nearly 20 years.

They’re calling it Soho Ranch House Sonoma. According to posts from Soho House itself — Instagram teasers, listings on their site — the place is expected to open in 2027. That’s a ways off, but it feels like we’re watching something shift.

Why it matters locally

Soho House built its name in cities: London, New York, Los Angeles. Private members’ club, creative crowd, that whole scene. This would be their first big resort-style property in the U.S. outside their usual urban footprint. And they picked here.

From what they’ve shared so far, the project would include around 50 cottages and villas, two pools, a central courtyard with dining and club spaces, a Soho Health Club and views stretching across vineyard country toward Hood Mountain.

If you’ve driven Highway 12 through Kenwood or Glen Ellen, you know the landscape — vineyards rolling into the foothills, old oaks, ranch roads. It’s always felt like the quieter side of wine country. That might be changing.

The ripple effects

A brand like this landing here is going to mean some things.

Tourism. Sonoma Valley’s food and wine scene has been building slowly — new restaurants, Michelin attention, solid tasting rooms — but it’s still the underdog. Soho Ranch House could push more visitors to treat the valley as a destination, not just a detour from Napa.

Traffic and infrastructure. Anyone who lives here knows Highway 12 gets packed in summer and harvest season. Kenwood isn’t built for resort-level traffic. The site was approved for development back in the early 2000s, changed hands in 2020, but this is a different animal. Worth watching how the county handles access and parking.

Jobs and local partnerships. Big hospitality projects tend to pull in local hires and regional suppliers — wineries, farms, makers. That could mean more stable year-round work, especially through the slower winter months.

The cultural question

Here’s the thing: Soho House has a reputation for exclusivity — members-only, invite-heavy, creative elite. Sonoma Valley has always had its own vibe: grounded, community-first, a little skeptical of outside pressure. Whether this project fits in or feels like an enclave dropped into the hills will depend on how it’s done.

For now, we’re watching. The teasers are out, the timeline’s set and wine country’s quietest stretch might be about to get a whole lot more attention.