The place How I set it up Photos Questions Places I've played DJ Wayne Noel home Instagram
DJ Wayne Noel at the decks during a first dance under chandeliers and string lights in the oak grove at Kunde Family Winery

DJ and MC at Kunde Family Winery

At Kunde in Kenwood, your company night, wedding or dinner can be on a hilltop under old oaks or deep in a cave cut into volcanic rock, and those two rooms ask opposite things of a sound system. I've played here, and I bring the sound, the microphone and the timeline for whichever one you choose.

Kenwood, Sonoma Valley

Vines since 1879, old oaks
and a long way up

Kunde sits on Highway 12 in Kenwood, in the Sonoma Valley between Santa Rosa and the town of Sonoma, with the Mayacamas behind it. Vines were first planted on this ground in 1879, and the winery describes an estate of about 1,850 acres that runs from the valley floor up into the hills. You'll also see it written as Kunde Family Estate. Same place.

It doesn't feel like a banquet hall, because it isn't one. It's a working winery with several separate event spaces, from a hilltop above the valley to a dining room at the end of the caves.

That range is what the music has to plan for. Outdoors there are no walls to hold the sound, and a hilltop breeze, when there is one, goes straight for the microphone. In the caves it's the reverse (rock on every side, and a little volume goes a long way).

The spaces

Four places to play
on one estate

01

Boot Hill

An outdoor hilltop in the Mayacamas foothills, in a grove of valley oaks with wide views over the vineyards. It has a stone kitchen with a bar, restrooms and a built-in fire pit, and the winery books it from April to October. Guests park at the winery and ride up, and the ceremony, cocktails and dinner all stay on the hill. In my photos the dance floor is up there too, under the oak. Open air and a climb: nothing up here holds the sound in, and every piece of gear needs a plan for getting up the hill.

02

Winemaker's Plaza

Just outside the tasting room, under pecan trees with vineyard and garden views. Dinner and dancing share one space here, so the same speakers have to be gentle through the meal and full once the plates clear.

03

Magnolia Room

A hall the winery built in 2024, between its Syrah and Chardonnay vineyards, that works indoors and out. Walls help: less volume fills the room. I check where I set up so the sound reaches the outdoor side too.

04

Aging Caves

More than a half mile of caves cut into the hillside behind the winery, through volcanic rock, with a dining room at the far end beneath a Syrah vineyard. Rock reflects everything, so this is quiet, warm music and a careful mic for toasts.

How I set up here

Built around the hill
and the way up

The photos on this page are from my own events at Kunde: ceremony chairs on a gravel terrace, my table under a big oak, a dance floor after dark. Here's how I set up on this ground.

01

Two setups, not one

A ceremony on the terrace and dinner under the trees don't share a sound system. I set a second one where the ceremony happens: its own speaker, a wireless mic for the officiant and the vows, the processional cued. A company night works the same way: sound and a mic wherever the welcome or the toast happens.

02

Gravel, grade and a full load

I arrive early, and at Kunde that matters more. The outdoor sites come bare (the winery includes tables and chairs for the caves only), so the sound, like everything else on the hill, is brought up. Whatever goes up the hill goes up complete, because nobody runs back down for a cable. Stands have to sit level on gravel, and I troubleshoot before the first guest comes up. I carry backup equipment, and outdoors that includes a second microphone within reach.

03

Power on a hill, or in a cave

Power is the first thing I settle for a hilltop or the far end of a cave. I confirm with the winery where it comes from in each space before the day. My estimate asks about it too, and adds a generator when one is needed, so you don't find that out the week of the event.

04

The night, on your clock

I plan the timeline to the end time you choose. The winery's own limit is already in my plan: its event spaces are reserved from 4 p.m., and 10 p.m. is the latest the venue allows. The welcome, the toasts and a first dance if there is one land early, dinner stays at a level you can talk over, and the dance floor gets its full stretch.

From my own events here

Under the oak,
day into night

DJ Wayne Noel at the decks during a first dance under chandeliers and string lights in the oak grove at Kunde Family WineryFirst dance under chandeliers and string lights in the oak grove DJ Wayne Noel at his setup with two speakers on stands under a large oak tree at Kunde Family Winery, with reception tables and vineyard hills behindSetup under the old oak, tables and vineyard behind DJ Wayne Noel at his mixer and laptop with an outdoor wedding ceremony and valley view behind him at Kunde Family WineryCeremony on the terrace with the valley view, music covered Guests dancing under string lights and lanterns in the oak grove at Kunde Family Winery while DJ Wayne Noel playsDance floor under the lantern-lit oak at night A bride and groom kiss beside the vineyard rows at sunset on Boot Hill at Kunde Family Winery in KenwoodSunset on Boot Hill, beside the vines DJ Wayne Noel in profile at golden hour with the hills around Kunde Family Winery behind himGolden hour on the hill, Kunde Family Winery
You're covered

You don't hold the music,
the mic or the clock

Before the day you fill in a planning questionnaire and we talk through the music: must-plays, do-not-plays, the exact versions of the songs you love. By the time I arrive I already know your event inside and out. Then I'm the MC. Every announcement, entrance and toast is mine to run, so you can simply be there.

For a wedding, Kunde requires a dedicated planner and a professional caterer, so you won't be on your own here. A company night or a private dinner may have neither. Either way, the music, the microphone and the timing aren't theirs to chase or yours to hold. They're mine. And I confirm each space's rules with the winery for your date.

Lighting

What light would do
under these oaks

An oak canopy is a ceiling waiting to be lit. In the night photos on this page, the string lights and the chandeliers hung in the oak aren't mine (string lighting comes with the site). The red on the dancers is. Dance-floor lighting marks where the party is when everything around it is dark vineyard, and uplighting at the base of the trunks would carry warm color up into the branches once the sun is down.

In the Magnolia Room or the caves I'd reach for something else: uplighting along the walls, pin spots on the tables, a monogram or pattern projected where you want eyes to go. All of it is an add-on you choose in the instant estimate, and I confirm with the winery what each space allows.

Not only weddings

Cave dinners, company nights
and long tables outside

Kunde hosts weddings, rehearsal dinners, corporate gatherings, celebrations and private dinners in the caves, and I play all of those. A dinner in the caves wants a Selector Session: my own programming, kept low enough to talk over and warm enough to notice. A company celebration, milestone birthday, fundraiser or holiday party on the plaza puts dinner and dancing in one place, and I set up for both.

A welcome party the night before, an after-party, a brand launch at a winery: tell me what it is and I'll tell you how I'd set it up. The Journey, a live sound bath that flows into a facilitated ecstatic dance, can be its own evening or one part of a bigger one.

Good to Know

Asked about a DJ
at Kunde

Can a DJ play outdoors at Kunde Family Winery?
Yes. I've played outdoors here, and the photos on this page are from those events. Open air needs speakers pointed at your guests instead of the valley, a wireless mic that holds up in a breeze, and a backup within reach. I set all of that before anyone arrives.
What time does the music have to end at Kunde?
Your night ends when you choose, and plenty of evenings wrap up before a venue's limit. Kunde's is 10 p.m. at the latest: the winery reserves its event spaces from 4 to 10 p.m., and it keeps to that. I know that window, so whatever end time you pick, I plan the timeline to it. The dancing isn't cut short, and the last song is the one you chose.
Do you provide sound for a ceremony on the hill?
I do. It's a second setup at the ceremony spot, with its own speaker and a wireless microphone for the officiant and your vows, and I cue the processional myself. It goes up the hill early, so anything that needs sorting gets sorted before guests arrive. I confirm power at that spot with the winery, and the estimate adds a generator when one is needed.
Can you play a dinner in the Kunde wine caves?
I can, and I set up for it nothing like I would for a dance floor. The caves are cut into volcanic rock, so sound comes back at you from every side. I keep the system small and the level low enough that the table can talk, and I run the microphone for toasts so every word is clear without being loud.
Do you play events at Kunde that aren't weddings?
Yes. Alongside weddings, Kunde hosts rehearsal dinners, corporate gatherings, celebrations and private dinners in the caves. I play company events, milestone birthdays, fundraisers and holiday parties. Some want a full celebration with an MC. Others want a Selector Session, a set of my own programming for a dinner or cocktail hour. Tell me which in the estimate. It takes a couple of minutes.
More places

Other places I've played
in Sonoma County

Clubs, festival stages and every venue from Napa Valley to the coast are on one page: Places I've played.

Your event

Tell me about your event at Kunde

Your date, the space you have in mind and the feeling you want in it. Get an instant estimate in a couple of minutes, or book a short call, and I'll take it from there.