Skinner Vineyards

Skinner Vineyards traces its origins to James Skinner, a Scottish-born miner who prospered during the California Gold Rush, purchased land in El Dorado County, planted vineyards, and founded J. Skinner Native Wines and Brandy in 1861, among the earliest wineries in California. The original Skinner operation produced wines for the Sierra Foothills mining communities and contributed to the broader 19th-century California wine industry that emerged across the gold country. The contemporary Skinner Vineyards was founded in 2007 by Mike and Carey Skinner after Mike discovered that James Skinner was his great-great-great-grandfather; within weeks of the discovery, the Skinners traveled to the Sierra Foothills to investigate the family connection. They acquired property a few miles from James Skinner's original site, and over subsequent years acquired the original J. Skinner historic cellar and the neighboring Wing Ranch, preserving the family winemaking heritage and grounding the modern estate in the same El Dorado County landscape. Several Skinner wines and the property names reference family ancestors and the 1861 founding date.

• James Skinner (1830 to 1901), Scottish-born Gold Rush emigrant, founded J. Skinner Native Wines and Brandy in 1861
• Original operation supplied Sierra Foothills mining communities and was part of the early California wine industry
• Contemporary Skinner Vineyards founded 2007 by Mike and Carey Skinner; Mike is James Skinner's great-great-great-grandson
• Estate later acquired the original J. Skinner historic cellar and the neighboring Wing Ranch
• Family heritage and 1861 founding date referenced in property names and wine labels

The contemporary Skinner estate holds three Sierra Foothills properties. Stoney Creek, a 67-acre property in the Fair Play area with 18 planted acres at high elevation, is the principal site for mountain-grown estate Syrah and the Rhône varieties that define the program. Wing Ranch is a 37-acre property at 1,400 to 2,000 feet with 5 planted acres, set lower in elevation than Stoney Creek and contributing a different expression of the same varieties. Green Valley Ranch, the third estate property, has flatter terrain than Wing Ranch. Combined estate acreage runs to approximately 129 acres with roughly 36 acres under vine. Soils across the holdings are decomposed granite typical of the western Sierra Foothills, providing well-drained mineral-rich conditions. The varietal program is built around Rhône varieties, with Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Counoise, Petite Sirah, and Cinsault on the red side, and Viognier, Grenache Blanc, Picpoul, and Roussanne on the white side. The combination of altitude, granite soils, and Rhône varietal focus defines what Skinner describes as small-lot, mountain-grown fruit.

• Stoney Creek: 67 acres with 18 planted, high-elevation site in Fair Play
• Wing Ranch: 37 acres with 5 planted at 1,400 to 2,000 feet, lower-elevation contrast to Stoney Creek
• Green Valley Ranch: third estate property with flatter terrain
• Combined estate acreage approximately 129 acres with roughly 36 acres planted
• Decomposed-granite soils across all sites; Rhône varieties on red and white sides

Seth Hunt serves as winemaker at Skinner Vineyards. A valley native with a Fresno State enology background, Hunt moved from production agriculture to a more intimate engagement with grapes and wine when he joined the estate, and his cellar approach emphasizes small lots and native fermentations that express the time and place of the mountain-grown fruit. Julien Fayard, the French-born Napa Valley winemaker formerly of Lafite Rothschild and Smith Haut Lafitte in Bordeaux who spent eight years as Philippe Melka's director of winemaking before launching his own projects, was announced as Skinner's consulting winemaker in March 2022. The portfolio features varietal-designate bottlings of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Viognier, and Roussanne alongside Rhône-style red blends and white blends; the Counoise plantings provide one of California's relatively few sources of the variety, which appears in Châteauneuf-du-Pape blends and contributes spice and acidity. Cellar practice emphasizes minimal intervention and natural fermentation, consistent with the estate's Sustainable In Practice certification.

• Seth Hunt: current winemaker; valley native with Fresno State enology background
• Julien Fayard: consulting winemaker since March 2022; former Lafite Rothschild and Smith Haut Lafitte; eight years with Philippe Melka
• Varietal-designate bottlings and Rhône-style red and white blends
• Counoise plantings provide one of California's relatively rare sources of the variety
• Native fermentation and minimal-intervention cellar approach under SIP certification

Skinner received Sustainable In Practice (SIP) certification in 2020, formalizing a sustainable-farming and operations approach already in place across the estate. The 12,000 square-foot winery was designed with environmental performance in mind, with solar panels and night-air fans strategically positioned to reduce the carbon footprint of the production facility. Native, drought-tolerant landscaping surrounds the winery, irrigated with recycled grey water captured from cellar operations rather than supplementary potable water. The destination tasting room serves as a regional anchor for the Sierra Foothills wine route in the Fair Play area of El Dorado County, alongside neighboring producers such as Boeger, Holly's Hill, and others in the modern El Dorado wine community. The combination of multi-generational family identity, Rhône-variety focus, formal sustainability credentials, and contemporary hospitality positioning has helped Skinner build broader brand recognition than the typical small-producer reach in the Sierra Foothills.

• Sustainable In Practice (SIP) certified since 2020
• 12,000 square-foot winery with solar panels and night-air fans for reduced carbon footprint
• Native, drought-tolerant landscaping irrigated with recycled grey water from winery operations
• Destination tasting room and regional anchor in the Fair Play area of El Dorado County
• Multi-generational family identity supports broader brand reach than typical small-producer scale

Skinner Vineyards is grounded in the modern El Dorado AVA, a Sierra Foothills appellation with a long viticultural history that traces back to the Gold Rush era in which James Skinner first planted. The contemporary estate represents a deliberate Rhône-variety expression of that landscape, distinct from the heritage-Zinfandel and broader-variety tradition associated with much of El Dorado County, and aligns with a growing community of Sierra Foothills producers focused on the Rhône and Mediterranean varieties best suited to the warm-day, cool-night climate and decomposed-granite soils. The Wing Ranch site provides a lower-elevation companion to the high-elevation Stoney Creek fruit, allowing the cellar to blend across elevation profiles within a single estate. The family-heritage narrative anchored in 1861, combined with current SIP certification and the consulting partnership with Julien Fayard since 2022, positions Skinner as one of the more prominent El Dorado AVA producers in current trade and consumer recognition.

• Sited within the modern El Dorado AVA in the Sierra Foothills
• Rhône-variety expression distinct from heritage Zinfandel and broader-variety El Dorado tradition
• Wing Ranch and Stoney Creek provide low and high elevation profiles within a single estate
• Family heritage anchored in 1861 founding by James Skinner
• SIP certification and the Julien Fayard consulting partnership since 2022 anchor current positioning