Camellia Cellars

The inspiration for Camellia Cellars began with family outings to the back roads of Sonoma County. It was the late 1970′s and Chris Lewand was attending Sonoma State University. Lured by the pastoral setting, her parents Ray and Del Lewand moved to Healdsburg in 1981 with the intent of opening one of the region’s first bed and breakfasts. The family spent the next year restoring the two-story Victorian that is now the ornate Camellia Inn.

Chris transferred to the College of the Redwoods (agriculture and ornamental horticulture) in Humbolt County, but moved back to Sonoma County in late 1982. Shortly thereafter, she met Bruce Snyder while working at a landscaping nursery in Santa Rosa. A 1980 graduate of the University of California Davis (vegetable crops, viticulture and entomology), Bruce moved to Kenwood in 1983 following two years in Washington where he helped develop the first vineyards in the Tri-cities area on the Columbia River.

Bruce was introduced to the family wine business in the fall of 1985. “The wines were made in the basement of the inn back then,” says Bruce. “I was enamored by the bouquet of the fermentation tanks whenever I’d walk by.”

For several years, the couple helped her father make wine for family and guests of the inn before taking the project to the next level. “It was a natural progression from amateur winemaking to a commercial enterprise,” says Chris. The winery was bonded in 1997.

Chris worked in the hospitality departments of local wineries as Camellia Cellars grew. “I was drawn to the crush pad and into the cellar to see how wine was made on a large scale,” says Chris. She eventually held cellar positions as well.

Chris and Bruce share many responsibilities including grower relations, sales and marketing, and production. They maintain close ties with their distributors and are often in the field calling on restaurants and bottle shops. “Winemaker Emeritus” Ray Lewand is now retired, but still participates in blending trials and public tastings.

Link to Camellia Cellars