Hansel Family

My father, Walter, loved to grow everything from kiwi to oriental pears and more. In the 1970's he enlisted my help to plant 257 chardonnay vines. Throughout the 1980's our entire family would harvest the half acre of grapes and my father and I would make the wine; filling two barrels, which equaled 50 cases of wine.

Initially these wines were hard to drink, but with the help of my friend, Tom Rochioli, I developed a passion to understand everything about the vineyards and the process of making wine. This passion influenced my quest for growing World-class wines.

Since our first commercial vintage in 1996, I have learned with every harvest that you must listen to vine; react to Mother Nature and ALWAYS compromise quantity for quality.

Our Story

Walter Hansel Winery was born from a simple passion of growing things.

My Dad, Walter, loved cultivating everything from vegetables and fruits to exotic pears, apples and kiwis. In 1975, I helped him plant 257 vines of chardonnay; those vines still produce and are part of our Estate chardonnay.


Originally, harvest was just an excuse to bring the family together; we picked the harvest date based on my Mothers schedule, as she was to cook dinner for the family workers. Over time, this chore became a passion to grow world class grapes and a commitment to produce high quality wines that we could provide at reasonable value prices.

By studying the Greatest Domaines of Burgundy, it became apparent that great wines are grown in the vineyard and transformed in the winery. Our vineyards became our partners and listening and understanding the vines became our obsession.

We feel it is our responsibility to preserve and protect our land and insure that we replenish soil nutrients naturally so that the land will flourish well into the future. We employ only sustainable, ecologically and environmentally sound farming practices.

Scattered throughout the vineyard are over 20 majestic oak trees. While it was common practice to remove trees to maximize vine count, as stewards of the land, we believe the trees were here first and deserved to remain.

Today, we farm 80 acres of chardonnay and pinot noir with over 10 different clones. The clones are matched with soil types and rootstocks to create unique an various flavors. Our Vineyard and Winery Manager, Jesse is the son of our original Vineyard manager and his daughters Denise and Monica operate the Administration, Logistics and Media portion Walter Hansel Winery.

Every Harvest reinforces our commitment to our original values: that is, listen to the vines, react to Mother Nature and respect what She gives you, Never compromise Quality for Quantity , and Best of all, provide the Highest Quality Product at Reasonable value prices.