We believe in making the best wines possible using traditional methods with minimal intervention. We firmly believe in giving people a product that they can depend on, enjoy fully, without breaking the bank. Leave the snobbery behind, grab a glass, and get a little more sophisticated with every sip. We might be a small wine producer, but there’s nothing small about great enjoyment.
Our wines are produced in Jackson, CA. Our tasting room is located in historic Amador City. We are open for tastings Friday through Sunday, Noon until 5ish.
Rob Holgate, Wine-Shepherd
Rob fell in love with wine while attending UC Davis. Set on going to law school, he took a break from studying for the LSATs to make Chardonnay from fruit grown on Sonoma Mountain. After a long day of picking, crushing and pressing, Rob watched a gorgeous sunset over the vineyards and rolling hills while enjoying a glass of wine. He suddenly had an epiphany, “Wait, people get paid to do this?” Almost instantly Rob decided to forgo law school to try his luck in the wine industry.
Rob’s first job in wine was with a rare and fine wine company, Benchmark Wine Group. There he got to taste some of the finest wines the world has to offer. It was a crash-course in palate refinement! He then started taking Viticulture courses at the Santa Rosa Junior College as well as working for two vineyard management companies in the North Bay. He bid farewell to Benchmark to work full time in grape and wine production. Rob then got a gig with GeoVit Vineyard Services conducting leaf water potential and neutron probe analysis for deficit controlled irrigation scheduling in some of California’s best vineyards in Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino counties. Rob then worked a harvest at Girard winery in Napa & Sonoma. There he learned the most valuable winemaking lesson: D.F.I.U. “Don’t (Muck) it Up!” After that harvest, Rob worked a little stint in wine marketing (back-end point of sales and wine club management).
Eventually, life steered Rob to head to Amador Wine Country in the Sierra Foothills. He took a position as Tasting Room Manager & Marketing Director for Amador Cellars. After a little over three years at Amador Cellars, Rob took a job with Terre Rouge & Easton as their Vineyard Manager and Cellar Assistant.
Holgate Hill is a cumulation of the experience, passion, dedication, stories, anecdotes, blood, sweat and tears that over a decade in the wine trade has stuck with Rob. Rob calls himself a “Wine-Shepherd” because wine can make itself, but it’s up to a great vintner to coax wine to it’s fullest potential.
If you want to learn more about us, don’t hesitate to drop us a line!