Sonoma Brinery: In Pursuit of The Perfect Pickle

At the ripe age of ten David Ehreth unknowingly had found his calling. It just got sidetracked by school, life and a thirty-year career in telecommunications. But as a young Marin resident in the late 1950’s, his father used to take him to Tommy’s Joint on Van Ness where he discovered what he describes as “a lifelong love affair with real barrel fermented kosher pickles–the king of pickles.”

Barrel fermenting, Ehreth explains, is the age-old process of cleaning the cukes, placing them in a barrel of salt water brine, spices and garlic then allow the naturally occurring fermentation to take place over the course of about 40 days. The more common vinegar-brined, Ehreth notes, is a relatively modern development in pickling, having started in the industrial revolution when geographic expansion necessitated products with a longer shelf lives.

By the time Ehreth was ready to retire, the barrel pickles were as rare on the West Coast as they were popular on the East Coast. So in 2004 with telecommunications behind him he started Sonoma Brinery in Headlsburg with no business plan or investors, just a desire to make a few pickles and sell them to the local stores. After all, he recalls, he had been making pickles from his own vegetable garden for years and people really liked them.

Fast forward nearly ten years and Sonoma Brinery products are sold in over 600 stores around the country. “It’s exceeded my wildest expectations,” Ehreth notes. “I had no idea we would find our product so widely desired. The fact that we use real traditional pickling techniques producing a different flavor and texture than what people are used to is a real distinction.”

Sonoma Brinery has expanded its line from the original kosher to include two versions of bread and butter pickles plus a line of sauerkraut, but Ehreth explains while bread and butters are always in his ‘fridge and kraut is an integral part of the cuisine at ‘Chez Dave,’ the true core lies around that kosher pickle.

Not surprisingly, people tell him Sonoma’s pickles remind them “of the pickles from Tommy’s.” That’s high praise for Ehreth but recently he’s been getting emails from New York City, asking when his pickles will be available out East. In the pickle business that’s as good as it gets. It may happen sooner than not because Ehreth plans to keep growing Sonoma Brinery. “I’d like to say we’re going to keep this thing small but I find it impossible to stop growth. People want a great pickle and I understand. I’m nothing but flattered.”

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