It all started in 2017 with one barrel of Cabernet Sauvignon and one barrel of Chardonnay – both of those wines took Double Gold in the San Francisco Chronicle International Wine Competition. It was at that point, we really knew we were on to something special. With Darin’s passion, talent and attention to detail in the wine making process and Gail’s background in Marketing, Sales and Human Resources, we have grown organically.
Our passion for producing award winning wines is fueled by the incredible community we have met in this industry. From first-time guests, industry colleagues to our cherished Wine Club Members, every encounter inspires us. We’re honored to share our wines — and in doing so, to share stories, build friendships, and create lasting memories. All of this, over a glass wine! We’re truly grateful for the opportunity to do what we love and to share that joy with others.
Darin Winton
From Water to Wine
In 2017, Darin retired after running a local Water Department for 23 years. After taking enology classes and volunteering during several Harvests, Darin was hired as the Assistant Wine Maker at a local Winery. He worked for several years learning hands on, and being mentored by Steve Burman from 3 Steves Winery.
Cherokee Winemaker
Darin is one of the few Native American Professional Winemakers in the United States. He is 1/4th Cherokee.
To honor his Cherokee heritage, Cellar 13 Winery has proudly used the Cherokee language for their Bordeaux style blends. The Right Bank Bordeaux style blend is named “Aliheliga” (“Grateful” in Cherokee), the Left Bank Bordeaux style blend is named “Tsogadu” (13 in Cherokee) and the white Bordeaux style blend is named “Sidanelv” (“Family” in Cherokee).
The art work featured on the back of these labels are original works created by Cherokee Artist, John Balloue. John is also Darin’s uncle!
You can read more about Darin and his Uncle, John, in this featured article from Cherokee Nation: CherokeePhoenix.org .
To view more original Cherokee artwork by John Balloue, visit his website www.JohnBalloue.com
Gail Henderson
From HR to Real Estate to Wine
Gail’s professional background began in Human Resources as an HRIS professional (building websites for HR departments) and as an HR Generalist for 10 years. She holds an MPA, and a BA in Human Development. For the last 20+ years, she has been working as a Licensed Real Estate Broker and is currently working at Christie’s International Real Estate.
Gail is also responsible for of all the behind-the-scenes processes running Cellar 13 Winery. Her Cellar 13 Winery role includes marketing, social media, wine club, the online store, POS, website development and maintenance, tasting room attendant, event planner, and many other things!
From the Beginning
Darin and I met in 2017 and started Cellar 13 Winery together. In July of 2017, while Darin was building a dog run for my puppy, (while I “supervised” from a hammock) I researched available domain names, ABC and TTB rules and regulations. That day I booked our Cellar13Winery.com domain – and that’s how we started! It’s a much longer story and A LOT more work than that, but that was really the first step in the process.
Picture of our dog in Darin’s truck – because she’s part of our story!
We would love to see you soon and tell you the entire story in person! Check our events page for our next pouring date and stop by for a visit.
Cellar 13 Wines
Cellar 13 Winery focuses on making high quality, award winning wines using fruit from only the best Vineyards.