INTERESTED IN WINEMAKING?
JOIN SONOMA HOME WINEMAKERS!
• Meet people with similar interests, attend meetings and special events, taste great wine and socialize.
• Help others make wine and learn from experienced grape growers and winemakers.
• Borrow, buy, or rent equipment. Get leads on grapes for sale and free.
• Access how-to presentations and mentors to learn winemaking best practices.
Holiday Party!!!
Get ready for a festive evening on Thursday, December 12, 6:00 - 8:00.
We will be meeting in Room 110 at the Sonoma Community Center for our Members Only Holiday Party.
Our Board Members will be making turkey and other delicious entrées. We ask that you please bring a vegetable, side dish or dessert to share. There will be some hot plates to help keep hot food hot. Don’t forget to bring a bottle of your finest home wine.
We will have a raffle with some prizes that will surprise you. So please bring your checkbook or cash to purchase raffle tickets. Maybe you will be one of the lucky winners!
You can park at the center or on East Napa Street. Parking is also available in the Trinity Episcopal Church located off East Spain Street between 2nd and 4th Street East.
This party is for members and their significant others only.
If you have not yet joined our club but would like to attend, please become a member by paying the membership dues (valid through 2025) by December 5, 2024.
Time To Pay Your 2025 Membership Dues
Our dues are what help maintain this organization and allow us to keep sharing great speakers, fun events, wonderful knowledge, and friendship. We are planning some members-only events in 2025 including wine tastings, vineyard and winery tours and club parties.
Please mail a check for $40 payable to the Sonoma Home Winemakers. Please mail the check to:
Sonoma Home Winemakers
P.O. Box 590
Sonoma, CA 95476
SHW Alum Joseph Daniel Sweeps Gold in the Professional Wine Competition at the 2024 Sonoma County Harvest Fair
Joseph Daniel, a Sonoma Home Winemakers member since 2018 and commercial winemaker since 2021, just won a Gold Medal for his 2022 Aerie Cabernet Sauvignon, a Double-Gold Medal for his 2022 Requisite Red, and a Double-Gold Medal and Best of Class for his 2022 Vino Tinto Rustico red blend in the professional wine competition at this year's Sonoma County Harvest Fair. The fourth wine of his 2022 vintage, a Sonoma Chardonnay, wasn't entered into the Harvest Fair competition, but it did win a prestigious Gold Medal in the North Coast Wine Challenge, completing the sweep. His 2021 Eclipse Malbec won multiple medals and became the darling of National Public Radio and NBC News.
Entries are now being accepted
for the largest competition for hobby winemakers.
See the full competition info or Download entry rules and form.
Our Annual Member's Pizza Party was a Success!
Special thanks to our hosts and pizzamakers
Peter and Gale Stanford!!!
Supporting our Community
Sonoma Home Winemakers donated 20 professional grade pruning shears to the SVHS Viticulture Program
We are proud of our support of Sonoma High School Viticulture program by donating much needed tools to this popular program. Included in the picture are SHW members Bob Brindley, Doug Ghiselin, and Rebecca Kreeger. Also pictured are Pat Stornetta, industry advisor to the program; a faculty member Lori Bisordi with daughter and students Audrey Clarke, and Mari Suazo The photo was taken by Les Boschke
Supporting Mount Veeder Fire Safety Council at the Home Winemaker Classic.
Board Members Paul Pastorino and Rebecca Kreeger poured a selection of Sonoma Home Wines at the Home Winemaker Classic Napa. This event supports the Mount Veeder Fire Safety Council.
About Us
The Sonoma Home Winemakers (SHW) is a group of home winemakers whose charter is to promote the fine art of growing grapes and making great wine and to share information among its members. We are centered in Sonoma California and we make wine from grapes gown primarily in Sonoma County. We meet once a month to share ideas and information, evaluate and taste each others wines, and host a speaker from the wine community. If you would like to learn more about us come to a members meeting as a guest. If you'd like to join our organization the dues are only $40 a year. And if you’re a member of the wine community with knowledge to share with our group, please let us know. We are always happy to meet new people.
We grow our grapes in our private vineyards, backyards, acquire grapes from local sources, or just help out fellow members with their winemaking. Our varietals range from Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Zinfandel and Pinot Noir to the distinctive Tanat, Sangiovese, Syrah, Primativo, Cabernet Franc, Grenache, and Mourvedre. Additionally, SHW manages and farms the Tex Juen vineyard located on Leveroni Road in Sonoma. This vineyard was established on land leased from the City of Sonoma for the education of SHW members and is fully maintained by the organization. Members are welcomed and encouraged to participate in experiencing hands-on viticulture and are rewarded with a share of the wine that is made from that vineyard.
Sonoma Home Winemakers is an active member of the Sonoma community. We have been a co-sponsor, along with the Sonoma Plaza Kiwanis and Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance, of past Sonoma Valley Uncorked events which benefited the efforts of those two organizations in serving the needs of valley youth and other programs. This and other community engagements offer SHW members the opportunity to share their wines with the broader community and to share their knowledge and skills of home winemaking.
Officers
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President: Bob Brindley
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Vice-President: Paul Pastorino
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Treasurer: Brian Middleton
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Secretary: Rebecca Kreeger
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Membership Chair: Faye Mellos
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Website: Gregory Levinson
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Members at Large: Doug Ghiselin and Peter Stanford.
Welcome to the SHW!
Hello from the Sonoma Home Winemakers! I’m glad you are interested in learning about home winemaking and vineyard management. Information on our website can help you. Better yet, please join us at one of our monthly meetings.
The goal of our group is to help hobby winemakers learn to make wine and hopefully new friends along the way. Each month we offer you a speaker to teach us about the different aspects of making wine from pruning a vineyard, to harvesting grapes, to making wine that you can be proud to share with friends and family. Plus we have several social events throughout the year to help you make new friends with the same interests and to enjoy the bounty of our labors.
I have been a wine enthusiast and collector most of my life and more recently a home winemaker. It may run in the family since I have early memories of helping my grandfather tend to his vineyard in Upstate New York.
The Sonoma Home Winemakers are a valuable and helpful resource. We also have fun! There’s only so much you can learn in books and online. Being able to access the minds of professional vineyard managers and winemakers as well as other experienced hobby winemakers has been invaluable. Understanding how to grow better grapes and learning how the pros make their wine has armed me with the knowledge to make better wine in my own right. And best of all, we share some fantastic home wine at each of our gatherings!
If you’re interested in home winemaking or you’re already on your way, I encourage you to come to our next monthly meeting - no winemaking or vineyard xperience is necessary. Everyone is welcome! I hope to see you soon.
Cheers!
Bob Brindley, President
Sonoma Home Winemakers