Leoness Cellars

About Winery and Wines

The word Leoness, meaning "village of dreams," is the inspiration behind our lifelong quest to create world class wines from the finest vineyards in the Temecula Valley. Nestled in the rolling hills and vineyards of Temecula's Wine Country, Leoness Cellars offers a warm, enchanting setting where visitors can enjoy great wines, spectacular views, and wonderful times with family and friends. Leoness Cellars is deeply rooted in the history of agriculture and farming in the Temecula Valley. Co-founder, Gary Winder, began farming in the valley in the early 1970’s with a focus on citrus and avocados. He founded Stage Ranch Farm Management in 1972 and quickly built a reputation in the valley for being a high quality farming business. Gary was joined by Mike Rennie in the early 90’s and together they focused on growth of their vineyard operations. They founded Leoness Cellars in 2002, on a hilltop overlooking the beautiful Rolling Hills Vineyard Estate on De Portola. These 20 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon were planted in 1999 by Stage Ranch using the finest Cabernet clones and appropriate rootstocks. The grapes from these vines have been used to craft some of the most enjoyable Leoness wines. Their vast experience has led to a true understanding of growing wine grapes of the highest quality; grapes that are concentrated, balanced, and ripe which will produce wines of incredible depth and flavor. At Leoness we pride ourselves on being farmers first and it is our practice to ensure that Leoness Cellars gets the best fruit off its estate. All the grapes used in the Leoness Cellars’ winemaking program are grown by us, Stage Ranch and Leoness Cellars, giving us complete control over the quality and exact specifications of our crops.