Since 1927, when John Pedroncelli, Sr. purchased vineyard and a small winery in Sonoma County's Dry Creek Valley, two elements remain unchanged: the exceptional place the Pedroncelli family farms vineyards, and the family's dedication to making fine wines.
Teneral Cellars was founded in Northern California in 2020. It is a certified women-owned and operated producer of sustainable, award-winning wines. From the outset, the company aimed to harness the power of business for good, using wine as a conduit for change. Every bottle opened sparks essential conversations, and Teneral Cellars donates 10% of its profits to organizations that empower women and fight for gender and racial justice.
In June 2023, Teneral Cellars purchased Wilderotter Vineyard, establishing a new home to share its passion for wine, community, and a sense of place. Thus, Teneral Cellars at Wilderotter Vineyard was born. The 40-acre estate, located in the heart of the Sierra Foothills AVA in Plymouth, CA, Amador County, includes 26 acres of vineyards, a full winery production facility, and a five-star luxury boutique hotel called the Grand Reserve Inn. Additionally, Teneral Cellars has 28 acres of vineyards in Amador County and 10 acres in the Fair Play AVA of El Dorado County. Wilderotter Vineyard has produced some of the region's finest wines, including award-winning Sauvignon Blanc and Nebbiolo. This merger of two exceptional brands allows Teneral Cellars to continue crafting phenomenal wines and providing every guest with an extraordinary experience.
After three years of traveling to various wine regions of the world, Charles B. Mitchell has returned the vineyards to operate with the highest standards possible. With estate grown fruit this winery strives for the highest quality from vineyard to bottle. Image courtesy of Randy Caparoso
Winemaker Denis Hoey released his first commercial vintage at the age of 21. He now blends old-world methods with new-world techniques to create nouveau-style wines. His goal is to produce wines that are rich, textured, and balanced, while respecting both terroir and varietal character. Hoey's success stems from meticulous attention to detail and the purposeful application of each step in the winemaking process, including grape sourcing, fermentation techniques, pressing regimens, barrel selection, and aging programs. The result is a line of clean, focused wines.
A native of Sacramento, Hoey grew up in a family that appreciated fine wines, exposing him to a diverse range of quality selections that helped refine his palate. In 2004, he graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz, with a degree in Business Management. Shortly after, he met Jeff Emery, the owner and winemaker at Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard. This relationship quickly evolved into an Old World apprenticeship for Hoey, who eventually became the production manager at SCMV before founding Odonata Wines in Santa Cruz in 2005.
Hoey honed many of his cellar practices at Bison Organic Brewery in Berkeley, where he worked with a more perishable product. This experience emphasized the importance of careful attention to spoilage organisms. He continues his education by following current trends in winemaking research from major universities and has traveled to Italy and France multiple times to gain a broader perspective on European winemaking techniques and varietal fidelity. His commitment to quality is evident in his practice of tasting frequently to maintain a sharp palate for the nuances of wine. He consistently challenges himself to improve by learning from the successes and missteps of others in the industry.
In 2014, Hoey and his wife, Claire, relocated to the Santa Lucia Highlands, where they are raising their family and operating Odonata Winery. Their property features a 2-acre vineyard, a production facility, a tasting room, and a welcoming patio where visitors can enjoy their unique wines.
Dobra Zemlja means "Good Earth" in Croatian. The winery was founded in 1997 and is situated in Amador County's historic Shenandoah Valley just off Hwy 49 and Hwy 16. The winery and tasting room are housed in a restored late-19th century facility with wine cave. The cave provides a perfect environment for storing wine barrels and tasting our wines. Visitors are always welcome to enjoy a picnic lunch, sip a bit of wine, or just sit and listen to the birds in our lovely, shaded picnic area. Dobra Zemlja specializes in Zinfandel, Syrah, Sangiovese, Barbera and Viognier.
Kendric Johnson was my Dad and is the person for whom this enterprise was named. He died in 2001 just as we were getting started. Naming the company after him is meant to both honor his memory and to impose his high personal standards upon the undertaking.
6 acre property with a 2 acre vineyard with a modern tasting room, show horses and alpacas on property. Open Wednesday -Sunday, dog friendly, food truck Fridays, and live music on weekends.
Beautiful vineyard and land. Frey produces organic and biodynamic wines- and is the oldest organic winery in the country. The Frey family, 10 out of 12 children run the vineyard and live on the 90 acres. The wine was tasty. I haven't had a lot of organic wines but I liked the organic Zin and biodynamic Petite Syrah.
Painting by Agata Zaborowski women enjoying wine
The name I chose, you might have figured out, is my beloved last name (compliments of a Lebanese father). Since it is not one of those easily pronounced names, like Smith, I decided it would be best to have something else on the label to catch the eye. I decided on the lotus flower. A variety of waterlily, the lotus rises in the morning from the muddy waters to open its perfectly symmetrical petals symbolizing the creation of life; purity, resurrection and perfect beauty; the union of bliss and emptiness, night and day, male and female. The closed lotus bud signifies potential.
Over the years, Papagni has become a very diversified company bent on producing the finest grapes possible for the winemaker, and the consumer. While they guarantee that excellent wine can be produced from their grapes, and fresh grape juice, because for eighty years, their customers, and our own family have been doing just that: making exceptionally complex, quality wines using our grapes.Some of the oldest continuous wineries in the state of California. The Papagni family tradition of growing grapes for winemaking reaches back to Bari, Italy. Family members have passed down the art of grape growing from generation to generation. The Papagni family have extended the grape growing traditions that started in Italy, to central California in 1912 and now to Madera, California. The Papagni family dreamed of fine wines made from the San Joaquin Valley so they planted premium grape varieties, combining carefully monitored vineyards with the most modern technical advances in cultivation and irrigation with the ancient traditions that yield the finest of premium wines. Red, white, port and dessert wines.
