Napa, Sonoma Family-Run Wineries Form Micro-Winery Guild

Family-run wineries producing fewer than 5,000 cases annually launched the Micro-Winery Guild (MWG), an organization created to protect, promote, and economically strengthen small producers. The Guild is also introducing the T.A.S.T.E. Verified Experience designation, a new way for wine lovers to easily identify and experience authentic small-production wines crafted by passionate, hands-on growers and winemakers.

Members include Elkhorn Peak Cellars, Crux Winery, Paloma Vineyard, and Van der Kamp Vineyard. A complete listing is on the website.

These wineries represent a new standard for authentic California wine tasting, where guests meet the people behind the bottle, experience agriculture firsthand, and rediscover wine through intimate, vineyard-based experiences that harken back to a more nostalgic and personal era,” said Elise Nerlove, co-founder of the Micro-Winery Guild and owner of Elkhorn Peak Cellars 

At a Micro-Winery Guild winery, the person pouring your wine is often the same person who farms the vines, makes the wine, and owns the land, she says. Guests are welcomed into working farms rather than commercial venues. Tastings may take place in vineyards, cellars, or family spaces - often just steps from where the wine was grown and crafted.

“Small wine businesses across California are opening their vineyards and farms for truly unique tasting experiences,” said Nerlove. “The Micro-Winery Guild brings structure and visibility to this movement by establishing the state’s first authenticity designation dedicated to small, family-run wineries.”

Visitors meet the people behind the bottle - farmers and winemakers whose stories are lived rather than scripted. These experiences are rooted in agriculture and offer a rare opportunity to understand the many elements that shape a wine’s character.