Zeke Neeley

Coming Up

Wine work for Zeke Neeley started in the lab: an undergraduate degree in biochemistry at the University of California, Davis, then several years in cancer research in the Bay Area. That background matters in the cellar. It points to a style built on measurement, repetition, and the ability to read what is in front of you without improvising past the facts. Wine country kept showing up on the calendar. As Neeley put it, “At some point my wife and I realized that every vacation we took ended up in wine country.” The point is not romance; it is gravity. From there, he moved through roles in Kenwood and Santa Rosa, accumulating the practical exposure that vineyards and cellars require. Kenwood Vineyards became the long run where that foundation could be put to use. Zeke Neeley served there as winemaker from 2017–2022, a five-vintage stretch that sharpened a disciplined approach in Sonoma County. In 2022, he stepped into a Senior Winemaker role at Kunde Family Winery (2022–2025), taking on a wider scope before returning to his current title at Kenwood Vineyards in Sonoma County, California, where he has served as winemaker from 2017–present.

Where They Are Now

At Kenwood Vineyards in Sonoma County, California, the work is still the same sequence of decisions: harvest timing, blending, and the slow translation of fruit into wine. Zeke Neeley’s current role sits inside that daily discipline. The title is simple; the labor behind it depends on patience, repetition, and a steady read on what a vineyard gives. Harvest brings its own practical rules. Neeley is direct about the season in California and the drinks that make it through August and September: “Mostly what I drink during harvest is crisp, refreshing, Mexican beer, because it’s hot in California during August and September.”

Signature

Among Zeke Neeley’s signature wines are Santa Nella Vineyard Pinot Noir and Six Ridges collection. Both reflect the same working logic that runs through his career: site-specific expression, steady execution, and attention to the small choices that shape the finished wine.

In Their Words “Mostly what I drink during harvest is crisp, refreshing, Mexican beer, because it’s hot in California during August and September.” “I wound up getting an undergraduate degree in biochemistry and working in cancer research for a number of years in the Bay Area.”