True Family-Owned Wineries

Some visitors are interested in visiting the smaller, family-owned wineries rather than those with some sort of corporate ownership. Finding true family operations is not that easy, as there's a definite gray area. Let me explain.

Jerry Seps, founder and still chief tractor driver,
at Storybook Mountain Winery

There are large companies like Treasury and Constellation that own numerous large and small wineries. There are large companies that are family owned, such as Kendall Jackson and Gallo. KJ has about 40 brands. I call them brands, as not every label is an actual winery. Gallo owns over 100 and produces 3% of the world's wine! Another "family" company, Foley Family Wines owns about 25 wineries. Bill Foley is a billionaire, making his money from smart investments. 

Some of these companies make major changes to a winery when they purchase it, others are more of stewards of already success brands. This may not be what you are looking for in a family owned winery.

It gets a bit fuzzy from here. As an example, the well-known Heitz Cellars of Napa was truly owned and run by the Heitz family from its founding until a few years ago. It was sold to a billionaire from Arkansas. I have nothing against billionaires from out-of-state, but this guy knows nothing about wine making and is an absentee landlord whose people hired others to run the business to meet his goals. There are lots of similar wineries, especially in Napa, because you have to be pretty rich to afford a winery there. 

Gone are the days when a "regular" guy could buy a small winery and go into business for himself. Some regular men/women do make and sell wine without the expense of a fancy winery. Sometimes it's sold out of their home or a small space in an industrial park where they share winemaking facilities with other regular guys.

I'm happy to say there are plenty of actual small, local families owning and running wineries in the Sonoma and Napa area.

A few of the many family-owned and run Napa County wineries:

• Clos du Val - Third generation Goelet family lives in Napa. 
• Regusci - Five generations of Reguscis for 100 years have worked the land and made wine.
• Schramsberg - The Davies bought an old winery property in the 1960s and restored it. Their son runs it now.
• Smith Madrone - Charlie and Stu Smith have been managing the vineyard and making the wine for a long time.
• Storybook Mountain - The founder still works in his vineyard, but most of the work goes to his daughter.
• Trefethen - Three generations of Trefethens have worked at the winery.

A few small Sonoma County family-run wineries:

• A. Rafanelli - The fourth generation is making this highly sought-after wine.
• Alexander Valley Vyds - The fourth generation is now growing up on the property.
• Bacigalupi - The second and third generations are running the vineyard and winery.
• Gundlach Bundschu - After the winery sat unused for decades, Jim Bundschu restarted the winery and restored the vineyards in the '70s. His son runs it now.
• Hawley - Winemaker John Hawley bought land and built the winery about 30 years ago. He runs it with his two sons. This is the classic small winery story!
• Rochioli - Joe Rochioli Sr, an Italian immigrant, settled his family on land near the Russian River in the 1930s. Joe Jr took over from his father. His son Tom Rochioli makes the wine now. Tom's children work at the winery.
  
• Rued - Another classic family winery story. The Rueds have been growing grapes in Napa and Sonoma since the 19th century. They opened a tasting room about 20 years ago to have their own label and make their own wines.
• Two Shepherds - This is an example of the industrial park winery. A couple that is not making your usual Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but Clairette Blanche, Cinsault, and others. What are they? You'll have to see for yourself. There are many wineries of this size throughout the county.
  

This is only a few of the family owned and operated wineries in Napa and Sonoma. There are hundreds of these kinds of stories. It's your job to seek them out!

Justin, Argot Wines, owner / winemaker /
fruit sorter / father of two