Homewood Winery is as close to a one man winery as David Homewood can keep it.
Step by step through the viticultural and vinification process he does as much of the work as he can. It is, therefore a small operation limited to 3,000 cases annual production.

        The discovery of the enjoyment of wine is an individual one. For David Homewood it was a rapid one as soon as he moved to California in 1979. The shift from sweet whites to full bodied reds took about a month. Unfortunately, he never really settled in to a concentration of any one varietal, and, consequently, produces small batches of many different ones.

        Starting as a home winemaker in 1983, he and two friends produced wine from a ton of Alexander Valley cabernet. The following year they added a ton of Alexander Valley chardonnay. By 1986 They bought their first ton of chardonnay from the Carneros and the styles of wine Homewood Winery became noted for were born. The core of each wine is the fruit, with moderate french oak and other components adding layers of complexity. The reds are unfiltered and unrefined at bottling. “I think that a hands off approach to winemaking allows more varietal character to show through”.

        The Winery was bonded in 1988 and the initial case production was about 500 cases. Zinfandel was added to the production of Cabernet and Chardonnay in 1992. That year saw case production soar to 2000. Unlike Chard and Cab, Zin has a lot of areas where it grows well, and each year different appellations and styles are made.

        Several of the vineyards we purchase grapes from are also small family operations involving only a few acres and this is an advantage because we can purchase their entire production. This allows winery and grower to work more closely together to produce vineyard designate wines. Odmann Vineyard first sold all their grapes to us in 1992, and we have taken the entire production ever since. Other vineyard designates have been added over the years and we hope to add one or two more. In addition to vineyards we work with year after year, we also get some on a single year contract. Dave finds it fun to experiment with different grapes and different growing regions and it adds variety. Blending different wines together is also fun, and our “Flying Wizzbanger” is the result. Named for the intramural team Dave played for in school, FW is a blend that varies each year. It is meant to be enjoyed by itself, or with almost any dish. An all around good sport! The mission of Homewood Winery is to remain small enough to maintain the hand-crafted approach to winemaking, and keep it fun.