Christine Hanna is the President of her family's winery based in Healdsburg and Santa Rosa in Sonoma County, California. She grew up at the home ranch, making tiny batches of wine with her father, winery founder Dr. Elias Hanna, in the late '70s and early '80s.

Christine came to work at Hanna Winery full time in 1991, first in public relations and marketing, then taking over the management in 1993. In her tenure, she has directed the winery's growth from 4,000 cases to 50,000, with national distribution and a robust direct to consumer program through three tasting rooms and three wine clubs. Christine has repositioned the winery's focus to Russian River Sauvignon Blanc, a consistent award winner now representing half of Hanna's production. She transitioned the winery's dependence away from purchased fruit to an estate program and began marketing fruit from Hanna's vineyards to other leading wineries.

Christine is a past President of the Sonoma County Vintners, and helped reposition the organization with its current focus on strategic marketing. She served on the Board of Directors for ten years. She served as Chairperson for the Sonoma County Showcase and Auction for 2003 and 2004, directing the popular consumer food and wine event, Taste of Sonoma. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Alexander Valley Unified School District.

Christine is also an accomplished cook. Her recipes have appeared in Food & Wine, Savor Magazine, and on the syndicated television show In Wine Country, and she has demonstrated them to consumers at cooking classes around the country, including Central Market Cooking School in Texas, and Apron's Cooking School in Florida. In August 2010, Chronicle Books will publish her first book, The Winemaker Cooks.

Christine holds a bachelor's degree in English literature and a master's degree in creative writing. She has done postgraduate work in viticulture and enology. She serves as a Trustee for the Alexander Valley Unified School District.

Christine is married and has two children. They live in the Alexander Valley in a restored Craftsman hunting lodge and grow 14 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon.

 

Jeff Hinchliffe became interested in winemaking as an undergraduate student studying brewing science at the University of California, Davis. After a few winemaking courses and work as a laboratory assistant in the enology department, he decided to make the switch from beer to wine. "The creativity and inevitability of winemaking won me over."

Jeff graduated with a degree in fermentation science with an emphasis in enology in 1983. With stints at Christian Brothers in Napa, and Hidden Cellars and Gabrielli in Mendocino, Jeff honed his winemaking skills.

In the spring of 1998, Jeff joined Hanna Winery, and has been making award winning wines ever since. Three vintages of Sauvignon Blanc have won the sweepstakes award at the Sonoma County Harvest Fair, and the 1999 Alexander Valley Cabernet was #26 of the world's top 100 wines in the Wine Spectator. "The Hanna family has a progressive attitude towards viticulture" says Jeff. "The vineyard locations are diverse and appropriately planted, which makes the situation as winemaker ideal. We do what few wineries have done, producing a wide range of varietals that are distinctive and exemplary."

Jeff and his wife live in Willits with their four children.