About Vinca Minor Wines
Vinca Minor is a small Northern California wine label established in 2013 by Emily and Jason Charles, a husband-and-wife team who moved to California in 2010. The winery's own account describes a start of quite literally four barrels of wine, made while both founders kept other jobs. The project has stayed deliberately small ever since, built around historic vineyards and the multi-generation growers who farm them.
The house wine is old-vine Carignan from Mendocino, joined by Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon, all in small lots. Producer profiles describe spontaneous fermentation without commercial yeast, no fining or filtration and minimal sulfur, with certified organic fruit and parcels dating back to the late 1800s. Visiting is the harder part. The Berkeley tasting room at 1335 Fourth Street is listed as closed, reporting in 2025 covered a plan to wind the winery down, and the San Francisco Chronicle later reported that Jason Charles reversed course after tasting the 2023 and 2024 barrels and restarted at roughly 1,700 cases a year.
As of this writing the winery's own site sells wine directly, offers free delivery in San Francisco and carries a contact form, but it publishes no tasting room address, no hours and no tasting fee. The by-appointment tasting listed on this page could not be matched to a current public space, so anyone hoping to taste on site should write through the winery's contact form first. Confirm current details with the winery before you plan a visit.
A four-barrel start in 2013 grew into a lean Mendocino Carignan label that nearly closed, then chose to keep going.
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Four barrels first,The winery's own history says it began with quite literally four barrels of wine while both founders kept other jobs.
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Carignan at the center,Old-vine Mendocino Carignan is the house specialty, some of it from parcels planted in the late 1800s.
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Hands off in the cellar,Producer profiles describe native-yeast fermentation, no fining or filtration and minimal sulfur additions.
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A closure reversed,The San Francisco Chronicle reported the winery was winding down, then reported that the founder changed his mind and restarted at about 1,700 cases a year.
"The urban-cellar, old-vine-county formula placed it firmly in the Bay Area's natural vanguard."
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Featured Wines
Current Releases
Wines change with each vintage
For an accurate list of current-release wines and library bottlings from Vinca Minor Wines, please check the winery's official website or contact the tasting room directly. Anderson Valley producers typically rotate vintages and offerings seasonally.
Tasting Experiences
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Vinca Minor Periwinkle Appointment
Taste the wines at Vinca Minor Wines in the Anderson Valley. By appointment only, reservations required.
From $20
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