Theresa Heredia

The Path

Harvest work, cellar instruction, and regional shifts formed the core of Theresa Heredia’s early training. A harvest internship at Saintsbury in Napa Carneros, California introduced the pace of picking and processing; a later role as teaching assistant at University of California, Davis turned that field experience into classroom language. Work as a winemaker at Domaine de Montille in France added a different cadence before she returned to California, where she became winemaker at Joseph Phelps' Freestone Vineyards in Sonoma Coast, California, a post she held until 2012. In 2012, the work moved again at Gary Farrell Winery in Healdsburg, California, where Theresa Heredia stepped into the role of head winemaker. The change marked a shift from building experience across sites and systems to carrying a larger share of decision-making inside one winery. The throughline stayed technical: reading fruit closely, working from place, and keeping the wines legible to their origins.

The Work Today

Since 2024, consulting winemaker has been the exact title at Gary Farrell Winery in Healdsburg. For Theresa Heredia, that means a defined, hands-on advisory role rather than a broad managerial one: attention to fruit, responsiveness to vineyard site, and discipline in service of expression. The emphasis is on preserving character, not overriding it. In 2025, a consultant winemaker role at Keller Estate joined that practice. The two current positions show a working method built on judgment and interpretation, with the cellar used to translate what the season and vineyard already supply. The focus remains on the relationship between place and palate, and on keeping that relationship clear in the finished wine.

Signature

The signature wines associated with Theresa Heredia are Rochioli Vineyard Chardonnay, 2018 roquila Vineyard Chardonnay, and Russian River Selection Pinot Noir. Read together, they point to a style concerned with precision and nuance, with the balance between fruit, site, and structure carrying the work rather than masking it.

In Their Words “This is why my top priority is to respect the fruit and try to capture the essence of each place.”

Recognition

Theresa Heredia has received Wine Enthusiast, Winemaker of the Year nominee (2020).