About Us

Family owned and operated

Meet the family in the tasting room. L2R Gordon, Chris, Jonathan (winemaker) Katie.

Wine selection

Taste the Wines of Premium Quality

We are located in the rollling hills of south El Dorado County California. On a hilltop with views across the state from the coastal range in the west to mountains on the Nevada border at Lake Tahoe in the east. Remote and quiet it is a great location to relax enjoy our wines and the marvelous views.

Fri – Sunday: 11 AM – 5 PM
Last tasting at 4pm

Wine Tasting

WHO WE ARE

We are a Sustainable Vineyard and Winery Preserving Traditions and making only Estate wines.

Vineyard practices

Vines maintained by hand. Grapes hand picked. Trellis designed for equal ripening. Pest control by oils not chemicals. No Glyphosphate used. Harvested for full flavor.

Winery practices

Hand sorted grapes. Temperature controlled firmentation. Sterilization by filter not chemicalls. No flavoring added. Stabilization by cooling not chemicals. Sparkling made in the traditional method using traditional grape varietals.

Wine aging

Wine is aged before it is released to develop flavors, consequently no sulphur is present.

THE PAST

Our History

We started out with a desire to make our own wine. We loved Zinfandel and Rhone Varietals. Our research led us to look between 2200 and 2800ft altitude. It took us 2 years to find the right spot with a large enough area to plant the rows at the right angle for even ripening. Our son Jonathan studdied viticulture and enology at UC Davis. With his encouragement our retirement project went out of control

We decided to make wine only from our own grapes seeing the comprmises that occured between growers and winemakers. Our aim was to make really good wine. After a few years I wanted to create something different and so we started making traditional method sparkling (Champagne). Our fist wine won the presidents award and best sparkling at the Orange County Fair. So we made a sparkling Rose and won the best sparkling at the California State Fair. Since then we have received many double gold medals for our Champagnes.

Summer wines and rich red wines are winning prizes. The owner’s son is a Consulting Winemaker traveling internationally consulting other vineyard owners.

Delores

Photographer, Pixel

Fantastic wines

A small, family-owned winery, tucked into the hills of the Fairplay Wine region in Somerset, CA, Gwinllan Estate makes exquisite wines. We visited in October and the weather was mild and dry. The property is gorgeous with beautiful views of the valley. We purchased a case of Gwinllan wines and will be purchasing more when we finish those. Worth the visit for both wine connoisseurs and novice wine enthusiasts.

Joshua

Designer, Art Studio

With over 70 wineries in El Dorado County, we’ve visited most over the past 30 years. Joined only a very few wine clubs and Gwinllan has been one of them for the past 8 years. Award winning Champagne (they call it that!), great red varietals and the winemaker’s blend always a winner. Owners Gordon and Chris Pack are usually front and center at the winery and some of the nicest, most genuine folks you’ll meet. The tasting facilities are pretty laid back with their dogs running around along with grandkids, etc. The views from the deck are EPIC, looking across rolling hills up towards the Sierras. A great way to spend a couple hours relaxing with some great wines and great people. Cheers!

Tom

CEO, Business Co.