Founded in 1996 by veteran winemaker David Ramey and Carla Ramey after stints at Matanzas Creek, Chalk Hill, Dominus, and Rudd, the label is known for low-intervention Burgundian Chardonnay and Bordeaux-influenced Cabernet. Now run by son Alan and Claire Ramey, with David still consulting. Tasting room on Healdsburg Avenue.
David Ramey is one of California's most influential winemakers — a Davis-trained enologist who studied in Bordeaux at Château Pétrus in 1979 before consulting and making wine at Matanzas Creek, Chalk Hill, Dominus Estate, and Rudd Estate through the 1980s and '90s. In 1996 David and his wife Carla launched Ramey Wine Cellars with a focus on bringing European cellar practices — barrel fermentation, native yeasts, extended lees aging, no fining or filtration — to California's best vineyards. The wines quickly became a benchmark for ambitious New World Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced from a portfolio of long-term grower partnerships across Sonoma County, Napa Valley, and the Russian River.
Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay, Carneros — David Ramey's debut wine (1996) and flagship; a Burgundian-built, age-worthy white.
Ritchie Vineyard Chardonnay, Russian River Valley — An old-vine single-vineyard bottling of power and structure.
Russian River Valley Chardonnay — The appellation white from the "Professor of California Chardonnay."
Claret, Napa Valley — A Bordeaux-style red blend Ramey has made since 2001.
Sonoma Coast Syrah — A cool-site, Rhône-inspired red, including fruit from Rodgers Creek in the Petaluma Gap.
In 2021 David and Carla transitioned day-to-day leadership to their son Alan Ramey and his wife Claire, who serve as co-presidents; David continues to oversee winemaking. The Ramey portfolio spans Russian River and Sonoma Coast Chardonnay (Hyde, Hudson, Ritchie, Platt), Pinot Noir, Syrah, and Bordeaux-variety reds including the flagship Annum and Pedregal Cabernet Sauvignon. The Ramey estate is the historic Westside Farms property on Westside Road, planted to Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Visits take place at the Healdsburg Avenue tasting room a block from the Plaza, by appointment for seated tastings featuring current releases and library bottles. The space is intimate, focused, and squarely centered on the wines.
David Ramey is one of the pioneering figures of modern California winemaking. After a bachelor's at UC Santa Cruz and a master's in enology at UC Davis, he talked his way into a cellar apprenticeship at Château Pétrus in Bordeaux, where winemaker Jean-Claude Berrouet became a formative mentor. He honed his craft over nearly two decades at Simi, Matanzas Creek, Chalk Hill, Dominus, and Rudd before he and his wife Carla founded Ramey Wine Cellars in 1996 with a debut of a few hundred cases of Chardonnay. Dubbed 'Professor Chardonnay' by Wine Spectator, he helped popularize whole-cluster pressing of whites, native-yeast fermentation, sur lie aging, and unfiltered bottling. His children Claire and Alan became co-presidents in 2021, and he continues to craft classically styled Sonoma and Napa wines, with a Russian River estate winery in the works.
Carla Ramey co-founded Ramey Wine Cellars with her husband, winemaker David Ramey, in 1996, and has run the business side ever since. As CFO, she has steered the operations, sales, and marketing that grew a one-man label into one of California’s premier independent wineries, with wines sold around the world — the family is the first to say Ramey would not be the multigenerational business it is today without Carla’s leadership. In 2021 she and David passed ownership to their children, Claire and Alan, now co-presidents, opening the next chapter of a family winery built on old-world technique and Sonoma and Napa’s finest fruit.
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Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay, Carneros — David Ramey's debut wine (1996) and flagship; a Burgundian-built, age-worthy white.
Ritchie Vineyard Chardonnay, Russian River Valley — An old-vine single-vineyard bottling of power and structure.
Russian River Valley Chardonnay — The appellation white from the "Professor of California Chardonnay."
Claret, Napa Valley — A Bordeaux-style red blend Ramey has made since 2001.
Sonoma Coast Syrah — A cool-site, Rhône-inspired red, including fruit from Rodgers Creek in the Petaluma Gap.
David Ramey is one of California's most influential winemakers — a Davis-trained enologist who studied in Bordeaux at Château Pétrus in 1979 before consulting and making wine at Matanzas Creek, Chalk Hill, Dominus Estate, and Rudd Estate through the 1980s and '90s. In 1996 David and his wife Carla launched Ramey Wine Cellars with a focus on bringing European cellar practices — barrel fermentation, native yeasts, extended lees aging, no fining or filtration — to California's best vineyards. The wines quickly became a benchmark for ambitious New World Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced from a portfolio of long-term grower partnerships across Sonoma County, Napa Valley, and the Russian River.
In 2021 David and Carla transitioned day-to-day leadership to their son Alan Ramey and his wife Claire, who serve as co-presidents; David continues to oversee winemaking. The Ramey portfolio spans Russian River and Sonoma Coast Chardonnay (Hyde, Hudson, Ritchie, Platt), Pinot Noir, Syrah, and Bordeaux-variety reds including the flagship Annum and Pedregal Cabernet Sauvignon. The Ramey estate is the historic Westside Farms property on Westside Road, planted to Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Visits take place at the Healdsburg Avenue tasting room a block from the Plaza, by appointment for seated tastings featuring current releases and library bottles. The space is intimate, focused, and squarely centered on the wines.
David Ramey is one of the pioneering figures of modern California winemaking. After a bachelor's at UC Santa Cruz and a master's in enology at UC Davis, he talked his way into a cellar apprenticeship at Château Pétrus in Bordeaux, where winemaker Jean-Claude Berrouet became a formative mentor. He honed his craft over nearly two decades at Simi, Matanzas Creek, Chalk Hill, Dominus, and Rudd before he and his wife Carla founded Ramey Wine Cellars in 1996 with a debut of a few hundred cases of Chardonnay. Dubbed 'Professor Chardonnay' by Wine Spectator, he helped popularize whole-cluster pressing of whites, native-yeast fermentation, sur lie aging, and unfiltered bottling. His children Claire and Alan became co-presidents in 2021, and he continues to craft classically styled Sonoma and Napa wines, with a Russian River estate winery in the works.
Carla Ramey co-founded Ramey Wine Cellars with her husband, winemaker David Ramey, in 1996, and has run the business side ever since. As CFO, she has steered the operations, sales, and marketing that grew a one-man label into one of California’s premier independent wineries, with wines sold around the world — the family is the first to say Ramey would not be the multigenerational business it is today without Carla’s leadership. In 2021 she and David passed ownership to their children, Claire and Alan, now co-presidents, opening the next chapter of a family winery built on old-world technique and Sonoma and Napa’s finest fruit.
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