discover Dehlinger

our story

Dehlinger wines are valued for their quality, expressiveness, and authenticity. As an independent, artisan winery, our winemaking experience has been built by over 50 years of craftsmanship under the direction of a single family.

A man with glasses holding a young girl and a boy, sitting on wooden train cars outdoors with a rural landscape in the background.

ESTABLISHED 1975

When Tom Dehlinger planted our initial 14 acres in 1975, he was one of the first winemakers to revive western Sonoma County as a winegrowing region after Prohibition. Twenty-eight years old at the time, Tom built a small winery building with his architect brother Dan on what had been an aging apple ranch on Vine Hill Road, outside of the town of Sebastopol. Soon after, Tom met his wife Carole and the two started a family on the ranch and put their energy into making and selling wine.

Wooden sign on a dark wooden wall that reads "Dehlinger Winery Built 1976 by Dan Dehlinger."

A man driving a red tractor pulling a wagon filled with apples in front of a wooden barn, with trees in the background.

A woman with long hair, glasses, and a pink jacket sitting on the back of a pickup truck with a woman with long dark hair sitting cross-legged nearby. The truck has a California license plate, and there are stacks of boxes and a wooden pallet in the background.

Vintage truck with a cargo of large white boxes, parked outdoors with debris including wood and metal scattered on the ground.

A vast agricultural field with rows of small plants supported by wooden stakes, set against a backdrop of rolling hills and mountains under a clear sky.

the russian river valley orginal

In these pioneering days of Russian River Valley winemaking, many fewer people were involved in the industry, and knowledge, resources, facilities, and equipment were primitive or hard to find. But over time, and with energy, trial and error, and some blind luck, we came to realize the promise of the Russian River Valley climate and the potential of some of its better hillside soils and locations.

A young person wearing glasses and a striped shirt shoveling leaves outside in front of a wooden wall with a closed door, an outlet, and some electrical cords.

CULTIVATING the EXCEPTIONAL

We have been blessed with an outstanding 80-acre site planted to classic winegrapes which we have refined and refashioned with new grafting, improved trellising, and eventually updated plantings. Experience taught us the many intricacies of the terrain and our ambition evolved to making truly outstanding wine.

Each block has been shaped by experience, guided not by expansion, but by a steady effort to improve quality and express the nuances of the site more clearly.

Smiling man wearing glasses and a navy blue zip-up jacket, standing outdoors under a clear sky.

Four people standing on a vineyard landscape with hills, a house, and trees in the background.

Recognition and Continuity

With time, people noticed what was happening at Dehlinger. First, recognition for the quality of our wines was local, and then it spread across the country. Some have discovered us by visiting our winery, others through the discerning restaurants that feature our wines, and still others by reading about us in wine publications. Many have heard about us by word of mouth recommendations from family and friends. Several of our customers have been making our wine a part of their lives since the earliest days of the winery, and now have passed down the enjoyment of our wines as a family tradition. To this day, the following we have gained for our wines is a part of who we are—we thank you, our supporters, for making what we do possible.

A vineyard landscape with rows of grapevines, rolling hills in the background, a house on the hill, and a clear sky with bright sunlight.

A Heritage company

Today, Dehlinger remains an independent, family owned and operated winery recognized for consistency and quality. Our focus is entirely on estate-grown grapes from our vineyard on Vine Hill Road, which now has a five-decade-long history of producing exceptional wines.

Two women standing in front of a wall with a sign that reads 'Chilinger Winery Est. 1975'. The woman on the left has wavy hair, wearing a striped sweater, and the woman on the right has straight hair with bangs, wearing a checkered shirt.

Carmen Dehlinger and Eva Dehlinger, two of founder Tom and Carole’s daughters, oversee day-to-day operation of both the winery and the vineyard. We continue to invest in our vineyard site, caring for the land and replanting the vines as they age. Our passion for producing hand-crafted wine remains unwavering, and excellence in grape growing and winemaking has become our tradition.