Sonyia Grabski has built an impressive career in the wine industry, where she has led sales and marketing efforts for prestigious organizations such as Constellation Wines, Terlato Wine Group and Visit Napa Valley. She also successfully managed her own consulting business, providing strategic guidance to companies like Iron Horse, Bonny Doon, Highway 12 and VinoPro, among others. In June 2019, Sonyia brought her expertise to Trinitas Cellars, owned by the Busch family, joining the team as general manager. On top of her many professional accomplishments, Sonyia has found new ways in that industry to celebrate and share the Catholic faith!
Our Sunday Visitor: Sonyia, can you tell us how you got your start in the wine industry?
Sonyia Grabski: I entered the industry when I was in college, 21, working in a tasting room, and then basically, I kept getting more and more responsibilities. All of a sudden, I was managing a tasting room, then a wine club, then all of direct-to-consumer. At Constellation, I ran a very large business. At Robert Mondavi, I ran all of its direct-to-consumer: a tasting room, e-commerce and wine clubs. I’ve done the big thing.
What I really wanted was a little bit more balance in life. Trinitas is different because it’s authentic and true to my values and the values of the Busch family. We focus on creating wines that honor God and Mary, and building a community around that is incredibly special. It’s about more than just making wine; it’s about building something meaningful and lasting.
Our Sunday Visitor: What projects at Trinitas Cellars excite you most?
Grabski: Tim (Busch) really allowed me to take what he had started with doing the Cabernet Franc, which was Pope Francis’s wine, and grow it. That wine was originally created to celebrate Pope Francis’s election as pope. The wine, Cabernet FRANCis, was given to the pope as a gift — and he loved it!
“Cabernet FRANCis, was
given to the pope
as a gift — and
he loved it!”
Every time I was at Napa Institute, I watched how people got so excited to see that wine, right? It’s such a great event! I watched hundreds of Catholics react with joy as that wine was presented. I watched them respond to the wines, but they really connected to that story and that label. It made me realize there was a niche for “wines of faith.”
And so I kept saying, well, I want to test another Catholic wine … maybe Our Lady of Guadalupe. Our Lady Guadalupe made sense because Steph Busch, the founder of Trinitas, was born on her feast day. My birthday is on the feast day, too! It was fun to just test my theory. I did a label and worked with my mom really closely on the label. She’s very heavily involved in the Catholic Church, so she’s my key advisor. She’d tell me to tweak this or that. So she and I worked on this together
Then I finally showed the Busch family, and Tim, who had no idea I had been doing this, loved it. And I was like, well, let’s see how it goes. And the reaction was just wildfire. People were like, this is amazing. She’s so beautiful, and we sold a ton of it.
Our Sunday Visitor: So then what did you do next?
Grabski: Then Our Lady of Lourdes was born. She is incredibly special to me because she’s the Catholic root of my family. I was raised Lutheran. My brother, who is 12 years younger than I am, had been very sick since he was eight. We weren’t sure what was going to go on. But his condition was severe. And so my Lutheran mother and father kept getting this call in their hearts, looking at this place called Lourdes. At one point, my Baptist grandmother from Oklahoma called my mom and said, “I think you should go there.”
You can see where this is going; I always get goosebumps when I tell it. My mom just knew in her heart of hearts that they had to go. So they went on May 13th, just over 20 years ago. She called me two days prior to leaving and said he was getting sicker and sicker. I didn’t know if he was going to make it back home.
You cause the grass to grow for the cattle,
and plants for people to use,
to bring forth food from the earth,
and wine to gladden the human heart,
oil to make the face shine,
and bread to strengthen the human heart.
— Psalm 104:14-15 (NRSVCE)
His condition was so bad when they arrived in Paris that my mom thought about putting him in the hospital there, but she decided to try to get to Lourdes. And when the train pulled into the station at Lourdes, my brother was fine.
My dad went and carried buckets of water from the grotto and bathed him in it, and he just got better and better and better. God was just there doing what he needed to do for my brother. My brother has grown to be an amazing man. He’s a flight paramedic with the best bedside manner for people in their worst moments. Then my parents converted to Catholicism, and my brother did, too. Doctors still are at a loss to explain what happened.
Our Sunday Visitor: But what about your own journey? When did you start thinking about becoming a Catholic?
Grabski: At that point, I just stayed Lutheran, stayed in that zone. I never really understood why it was different from being Catholic. I figured going to church was good enough.
Then working for Tim, getting exposed to Napa Institute, really started building a desire. I started seeing a different level of joy, a different level of beauty that comes from Catholic traditions. Honestly, it’s the understanding of the Blessed Mother that I fell in love with. Working on Lourdes and then last year after Napa Institute, I realized, “I am Catholic.” It was just that simple. I was just like, “I’m a Catholic.”
I got a little late to the party to get in through RCIA, so I didn’t enter the Church this last Easter, but I’m on my way. I think I’m so blessed because I’ve gotten to know so many priests that I’ve built relationships with. When I have questions or thoughts or am conflicted on something, I can call them. I get really in-depth answers, and it gives me the ability to really pray and think through these things, which is amazing. So it’s been quite a journey.
Our Sunday Visitor: What do you really love about the wines you’re making now?
Grabski: Each one of these labels that I work on is not just something pretty. It’s really taking the time and researching, and that’s what I’ve loved. I love the deep dive, finding out what miracles are associated with each Mary. Our Lady of Champion, for example, is just beautiful. She’s so loving and so warm and inviting. That’s what I want people to feel when they see these bottles. It’s not just a bottle of wine. It’s a connection to faith. It’s a connection to something bigger than them, and I think that’s where it has resonated with people. And that’s what I want to keep doing.
People are searching for meaning, for something that transcends the ordinary. And that’s what I hope these wines can offer, just a little taste of something transcendent, something that can bring a moment of peace or reflection in their lives.
