Our Founder The property was acquired in 1996 by Dieter Tede of San Francisco. Mr. Tede is a native of Germany who has resided in California since 1958. His interest in wines originated with a family history going back to the 1860s when great-grandfather Friedrich William Tede established the wine and beer distribution business of Tede & Schlie in Schwerin, in northern Germany. During his career as a partner in the San Francisco shipping firm Marine Chartering Co., Inc. Mr. Tede began to activate his latent interest in wines with an investment in Audubon Cellars in 1983.As shareholder and director of the company he traveled along the learning curve of this not uncomplicated business, culminating in becoming its president in 1991, after retiring from his shipping activities. In the Spring of 2005 acquired the assets of Audubon Cellars in their entirety, and merged them into the Hopper Creek activities.

Our Winemaker At Hopper Creek Winery our Hopper Creek, Audubon and Sonoma Mission brands are produced under the direction of wine maker Barry Grushkowitz. Barry was born in San Francisco and grew up in Petaluma. He currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area where he and his wife Dorothy raised their daughter Addie and their son Tyler. As a young teenager, while traveling back and forth to Clear Lake through St. Helena, Barry often wondered what it would be like to make wine within those thick walled vine covered wineries in the Napa Valley. Those thoughts were put aside for several years until the late 1970's when he first became involved in the wine industry after receiving his Masters Degree in the Biological Sciences. Barry has been making wine ever since and has received numerous awards and medals over the years for his ability to craft very fine wines from Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon among other popular varietals. He is now making wines for Hopper Creek Winery from the excellent grapes grown on the Yountville estate. In addition, he is making wines from grapes grown in Sonoma Valley and El Dorado County. His first release for Hopper Creek Winery is the 2003 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from the famed Atlas Peak Mountain.