Founded in 1984 by Bruce Cohn, longtime manager of the Doobie Brothers, B.R. Cohn pairs a working winery with rock-and-roll history. The Olive Hill Estate sits between Sonoma Mountain and the Mayacamas, anchored by Cabernet Sauvignon and a heritage grove of 450 Picholine olive trees. Unhurried, music-tinged tastings.
Bruce Cohn was managing the Doobie Brothers when he bought an old dairy in Glen Ellen in 1974 — partly for sanity, mostly for the dairy's existing vineyard, which he soon learned sat on a microclimate of unusual character. Mentored by Charlie Wagner of Caymus, Cohn spent a decade learning the land before opening B.R. Cohn Winery in 1984. The Olive Hill Estate Vineyard — 55 acres in 20 blocks, planted mostly to Cabernet Sauvignon with smaller blocks of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec — benefits from a distinct cool air drainage between Sonoma Mountain to the west and the Mayacamas Range to the north. A heritage grove of more than 450 Picholine olive trees, planted in the 1870s, still produces award-winning olive oil alongside the wines.
Olive Hill Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma Valley — The flagship; estate-grown beside founder Bruce Cohn's heritage Picholine olive grove.
Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon — The top estate lots, bearing a "Special Selection" name bestowed by Caymus's Charlie Wagner.
Olive Hill Estate Cabernet Franc — A warm-site estate bottling from the heart of Sonoma Valley.
Olive Hill Estate Malbec — A recent standout, dark and supple.
Quintet Red Blend — A five-variety Bordeaux-style estate blend.
Visiting today, you'll find a relaxed tasting bar, vineyard-view cabanas, an outdoor patio, and a memorabilia room that doubles as a quiet shrine to Cohn's four-and-a-half decades in rock-and-roll management. Winemaker Glenn Hugo oversees the estate program, releasing single-vineyard bottlings under the Olive Hill Estate label alongside a broader Sonoma Valley range. The property is open daily 10–5, walk-ins welcome, and the on-site amphitheater hosts a summer concert series and the annual Sonoma Harvest Music Festival presented by BottleRock. A quintessential Glen Ellen visit — laid-back vibe, serious Cabernet, and a soundtrack to match.
A native Texan, Glenn Hugo found his passion for wine working in restaurants before moving to Napa Valley in 2003 to pursue winemaking. He started at Girard Winery as a harvest intern and rose through cellar master and assistant winemaker to become Girard's winemaker in 2010, earning numerous 90-plus-point scores along the way. He consulted at B.R. Cohn from 2004 to 2010 and took over as the Sonoma winery's winemaker in 2018, overseeing its estate, vineyard-designated, and Silver Label programs from the celebrated Olive Hill Estate. His philosophy is unpretentious and food-driven: wine, he says, is a living thing meant to be shared with family, friends, and a good meal.
Before he made wine, Bruce Cohn made hits — he managed the Doobie Brothers for 45 years. In 1974 he bought an old Glen Ellen dairy to keep his family grounded, naming it Olive Hill Estate for its grove of 145-year-old Picholine olive trees. After a decade selling prized grapes to other wineries — mentored by Caymus’s Charlie Wagner, who lent him the “Special Selection” name — Cohn launched B.R. Cohn in 1984 with a young Helen Turley as his first winemaker. He went on to press California’s first single-estate olive oil in a century and made the estate a beloved Sonoma music venue before his retirement.
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Olive Hill Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma Valley — The flagship; estate-grown beside founder Bruce Cohn's heritage Picholine olive grove.
Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon — The top estate lots, bearing a "Special Selection" name bestowed by Caymus's Charlie Wagner.
Olive Hill Estate Cabernet Franc — A warm-site estate bottling from the heart of Sonoma Valley.
Olive Hill Estate Malbec — A recent standout, dark and supple.
Quintet Red Blend — A five-variety Bordeaux-style estate blend.
Bruce Cohn was managing the Doobie Brothers when he bought an old dairy in Glen Ellen in 1974 — partly for sanity, mostly for the dairy's existing vineyard, which he soon learned sat on a microclimate of unusual character. Mentored by Charlie Wagner of Caymus, Cohn spent a decade learning the land before opening B.R. Cohn Winery in 1984. The Olive Hill Estate Vineyard — 55 acres in 20 blocks, planted mostly to Cabernet Sauvignon with smaller blocks of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec — benefits from a distinct cool air drainage between Sonoma Mountain to the west and the Mayacamas Range to the north. A heritage grove of more than 450 Picholine olive trees, planted in the 1870s, still produces award-winning olive oil alongside the wines.
Visiting today, you'll find a relaxed tasting bar, vineyard-view cabanas, an outdoor patio, and a memorabilia room that doubles as a quiet shrine to Cohn's four-and-a-half decades in rock-and-roll management. Winemaker Glenn Hugo oversees the estate program, releasing single-vineyard bottlings under the Olive Hill Estate label alongside a broader Sonoma Valley range. The property is open daily 10–5, walk-ins welcome, and the on-site amphitheater hosts a summer concert series and the annual Sonoma Harvest Music Festival presented by BottleRock. A quintessential Glen Ellen visit — laid-back vibe, serious Cabernet, and a soundtrack to match.
A native Texan, Glenn Hugo found his passion for wine working in restaurants before moving to Napa Valley in 2003 to pursue winemaking. He started at Girard Winery as a harvest intern and rose through cellar master and assistant winemaker to become Girard's winemaker in 2010, earning numerous 90-plus-point scores along the way. He consulted at B.R. Cohn from 2004 to 2010 and took over as the Sonoma winery's winemaker in 2018, overseeing its estate, vineyard-designated, and Silver Label programs from the celebrated Olive Hill Estate. His philosophy is unpretentious and food-driven: wine, he says, is a living thing meant to be shared with family, friends, and a good meal.
Before he made wine, Bruce Cohn made hits — he managed the Doobie Brothers for 45 years. In 1974 he bought an old Glen Ellen dairy to keep his family grounded, naming it Olive Hill Estate for its grove of 145-year-old Picholine olive trees. After a decade selling prized grapes to other wineries — mentored by Caymus’s Charlie Wagner, who lent him the “Special Selection” name — Cohn launched B.R. Cohn in 1984 with a young Helen Turley as his first winemaker. He went on to press California’s first single-estate olive oil in a century and made the estate a beloved Sonoma music venue before his retirement.
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