Winemaker

George Phelan

Winemaker, Dunnewood Vineyards

Discipline: Winemaker
Venue: Dunnewood Vineyards · Winery

Portrait of George Phelan

i. Biography

George Phelan works in wine as a matter of timing, attention, and use. At Dunnewood Vineyards in Ukiah, the Winery Manager role asks for steady oversight across cellar rhythm, season change, and the small adjustments that can carry through to vintage. Phelan’s own standard matches that pace: staying current is part of the work, not an extra. He has said he depends on the timeliness of Wine Business Monthly articles to keep up with the latest trends in winemaking. In a trade where information can go stale quickly, especially once crush is underway, he values writing that lands while it can still inform a decision. For Phelan, the right article at the right moment is useful in the most direct sense: it can be put to work.

Coming Up

Early in his career, George worked as winemaker and Winery Manager at Dunnewood Vineyards and Winery in Ukiah, Mendocino County, California. That combination of titles signals a dual responsibility from the outset: cellar work on one side, winery oversight on the other. In a role like that, craft and management are not separate tracks but part of the same operational discipline, with one decision setting up the next.

Where They Are Now

He holds the Winery Manager title at Dunnewood Vineyards in Ukiah. The role is concise on paper and exacting in practice, requiring judgment, oversight, and close attention to the pace of both vineyard and winery. Phelan’s position sits in the same practical register as his reading habits: track what is shifting, notice what is arriving, and use what matters before the window closes.

In Their Words “The recent story on extraction, for example, came out just prior to crush season—allowing me to gear my fermentations towards some new alternatives.” “I depend on the timeliness of Wine Business Monthly articles to keep me on top of the latest trends in winemaking.” Read together, the remarks point to a working habit built around timing and application. Phelan speaks in terms of crush season, extraction, and fermentations, which keeps the emphasis on decisions made under pressure and with limited room for delay. His use of Wine Business Monthly is practical rather than decorative: information is valuable when it can still shape the work at Dunnewood Vineyards.

Career - Winemaker, Winery Manager — Dunnewood Vineyards and Winery, Ukiah, Mendocino County, California

Career - Winemaker, Winery Manager — Dunnewood Vineyards and Winery, Ukiah, Mendocino County, California He is the winemaker since 1987 and later as winery manager for the winery under Constellation/Canandaigua ownership. California He is the winemaker since 1987 and later as winery manager for the winery under Constellation/Canandaigua ownership. He is the winemaker since 1987 and later as winery manager for the winery under Constellation/Canandaigua ownership.

FAQ What is George Phelan's current role? George Phelan is Winery Manager. Where did George Phelan work before? George Phelan's earlier career included Dunnewood Vineyards and Winery.