Camellia Cellars

One sunny day in 1979, when Del and Ray Lewand were on a wine tasting tour of the Alexander Valley they decided to stay overnight at a local inn. That stay triggered an idea. Both were Los Angeles natives, but with their children pretty well grown they were beginning to think of a move away from southern California. “We hadn’t settled on a way to support ourselves,” says Ray, “but after the night at the inn we looked at each other and said, ‘Hey, this is something we could do.”


Two years later they found the ideal property: an 1869 Italianate Victorian home in Healdsburg, where they created a bed and breakfast inn they called Camellia Inn.

“When dad and mom moved here in 1981,” says daughter Chris, “my dad said, now that I live in the wine country, I’m going to make wine, and I remember I told him he was crazy.” Crazy or not Ray worked a couple of crushes for a winery friend, took a six week wine course and invested in four wine barrels. He picked Pinot Noir and Zinfandel grapes and, with the help of winemaker Paul Brasset made his first wines. In 1984 his Cabernet Sauvignon took a gold at the Orange County Fair. The following year the Camellia Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon took the amateur sweepstakes prize at the Sonoma County Harvest Fair.

Eventually Ray had sources for more superb grapes than he could legally use as a home winemaker, so in 1997 he bonded his winery, Camellia Cellars. Chris was named manager and Bruce, her husband, became winemaker and marketing manager, with Ray still active in all the phases of winemaking.

The first commercial release was 220 cases of 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon. In 1998 production rose to 294 cases of Cab. In 1999, along with the Cabernet, Camellia Cellars released its first Sangiovese, its first Zinfandel, and a proprietary wine called Diamo Grazie. As each wine entered the market, the list of prizes and awards for Camellia Cellars got longer.

Because the wines are winning such acclaim, and because production is so limited, the most certain way to obtain a few bottles is by joining the Friends of Camellia Cellars.

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