Our Story

Dave Homewood started as a home winemaker in 1983 when he and two friends produced wine from a ton of Alexander Valley cabernet sauvignon. The following year they added a ton of Alexander Valley chardonnay. In 1986, they purchased their first ton of chardonnay from the newly formed Carneros AVA (appellation) and the styles of wine that Homewood Winery became noted for were born.

Shortly after, the winery was bonded in 1988, with an initial case production of about 500 cases. Zinfandel was added to the production of chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon in 1992. That year, case production soared to 2,000. All of the grapes are sourced from specific growers so that David could choose grapes from appellations where they excel. Several of the vineyards are also small, family-owned operations involving only a few acres and their entire production is made exclusive to Homewood. This allows winery and grower to work intimately together to produce distinctive vineyard designate wines.

Winemaker’s Note -

Every winemaker has a preferred style of wine and employs various tools to process grapes in that fashion. I prefer a core of good fruit, not “tutti-frutti”, but with layers of complexity. Wine should have pleasing, inviting aromas and a tasty delivery from front to back on your palate. It should linger after your sip. It should accompany food and refresh with a pleasing acidity to cleanse your palate. That is what I enjoy most about wine. All of my reds are unfiltered and unfined because every attempt to remove a natural element inevitably results in the unwanted loss of other defining characteristics. The contrast between wine before and after filtering is amazingly pronounced and what is missing from the filtered wine is its complete character. The industry term to describe my style is “minimalist winemaking”. I prefer to call it “under-manipulated” and there is a scientific basis behind the philosophy...