The winemaking team of Davies Vineyards strives to find the depth and character in every wine they craft, producing an unmatched level of quality and style in each bottling. Following the vision of Jamie Davies, who spirited the first bottling of the first J. Davies Estate Cabernet Sauvignon in 2001, each year Davies Vineyards sets out to craft wines that are supple enough to be enjoyed upon release, while being robust and structured enough to age gracefully over time. With the ultimate intent being to allow each vineyard to express its individual natural character, the site selections and picking decisions are based on the taste and structure of the fruit on the vine. Because the winemakers utilize more than 10 different vineyard sites across four of California’s appellations, each year brings new opportunities to craft delicious wines while adapting to the annual changes the environment delivers. With ever-advancing technological improvements, and a constant curiosity to find better techniques in the winery, the team is able to fold the new knowledge into a timeless practice of crafting consistent and layered red wines. Since that first harvest in 2001, Davies Vineyards has never strayed from the founding principles that were instilled by Jamie and continues to develop delicious wines that show an intimate knowledge of a place.
Vintner Davies Vineyards and Schramsberg Vineyards
Named President of Schramsberg Vineyards in 2005, Hugh had already spent multiple years as the winemaker and general manager of the winery. He has lived and breathed the winery life since he first walked the vineyards as a toddler. As a young man he ventured away from home to broaden his experiences, earning a Master’s Degree in Enology from the University of California, Davis.
Hugh was instrumental in the decision to replant the historic hillside vineyards to Bordeaux varietals. They are utilized by the Schramsberg winemaking team to make J. Davies Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, a wine that has received both public and critical acclaim since its first release in 2004. Continuing on a path that started 50 years ago, Hugh carries on with the family legacy, living on the Schramsberg property with his lovely wife Monique and their three sons.
Vice President of WinemakingSchramsberg Vineyards and Davies Vineyards
Sean Thompson has acquired a deep interest in the cultivation and preparation of the bounty that comes from the soil. He earned his Bachelor’s of Science degree in Chemistry in 1992 and Masters of Science in Viticulture and Enology from University of California, Davis ten years later. Sean joined the winemaking team in the summer of 2006 as the Assistant Winemaker for the J. Davies Diamond Mountain District Cabernet Sauvignon program. He was promoted to the position of Head Winemaker of the still wine program in 2008. In 2015, he was again promoted, this time to the position of Senior Winemaker for both Davies and Schramsberg Vineyards brands. In 2017, he was promoted to Director of Winemaking, and was then promoted to Vice President of Winemaking in 2024, where oversees the production and winemaking of all the Schramsberg and Davies Vinyards wines we produce.
Process
Always striving for excellence, our co-founder Jamie Davies wanted to craft wine with a supple and inviting pallet that could still be enjoyed 20 years from now. To produce these results the winemaking team is gentle with the grapes during production so as not to extract the clusters’ harsher tannins and let the natural fruit flavors come through. They also utilize new French oak barrels from reliable cooperages to marry each wine’s unique texture and profile. Using these techniques, the wines across the Davies Vineyards portfolio have become consistent with our founders’ vision and the winemaking team carries these practices through to the creation of all the wines in the portfolio and take the necessary care to bring out the full expression of each individual wine produced.
