Hamel Family Wines

Hamel Family Wines is one of the Sonoma Valley's most ambitiously positioned and scenically dramatic mountain estates. George Hamel III, the son of a Merrill Lynch CEO who redirected his ambitions toward Sonoma Valley wine, established the Highway 12 estate in 2000 with a conviction that the ridge terrain between the Sonoma Valley floor and the Carneros AVA could produce Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir of genuine mountain character and critical distinction.

The 52-acre sustainably farmed estate sits on a ridge with spectacular views across both the Sonoma Valley and Carneros, a position that subjects the vines to the cooling influences of both the bay-driven Carneros winds and the mountain elevation, creating a genuinely distinctive microclimate for red wine production. The estate cave, built into the hillside for natural temperature control, provides the ideal aging environment for the Hamel Cabernet program's most ambitious expressions.

Winemaker Jamey Whetstone has shaped a program that consistently earns 92–96 point recognition for estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and Zinfandel, wines that show the mountain terroir's capacity for both power and elegance in a Sonoma Valley estate that very few visitors discover and that rewards those who make the appointment.

Not Yet Reviewed

Paul Hobbs Winery

Russian River Valley · Sebastopol

Not Yet Reviewed

Paul Mathew Vineyards

Russian River Valley · Graton

Not Yet Reviewed

Pax Wines

Sonoma County · Sonoma Coast

Not Yet Reviewed

Peay Vineyards

Sonoma Coast · Annapolis

Not Yet Reviewed

Pech Merle Winery

Alexander Valley

Not Yet Reviewed

Pedroncelli Winery

Dry Creek Valley · Geyserville