Chris Barrett
Winemaker Chris Barrett’s passion and expertise are present in every bottle he produces. Born and raised in Sonoma County, his father originally taught him how to make wine in their garage. He only left wine country briefly to earn his degree in biology from California State University, Chico before coming back with his loving wife Angela to follow his passion and dream. When not managing the Pezzi King Estate and producing wine, Chris can be found at a Giants game with his family or on one of their many fishing trips.
As Winemaker for Pezzi King and St. Anne’s Crossing wineries, Chris has won 5 Sweepstakes awards, including a rare “Double Sweepstakes” award at the 2012 Sonoma County Harvest Fair for his Pezzi King Reserve Row 26 Zinfandel and Royal Rot Sauvignon Blanc. He most recently won the sweepstakes at the 2015 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition for the Reserve Row 14 Zinfandel. He has accumulated numerous Double Gold and Gold medals, as well as 90+ Robert Parker and Wine Enthusiast ratings on multiple varietals and vintages. Chris has always had one foot in the lab and the other in the cellar. He worked for Vinquiry learning the ins and outs of wine analysis while developing his skills in fining and winemaking products before he took the senior analyst position at Sonoma Wine Company, where he was quickly promoted to Enologist. With his strong desire to make his own wines, he took the helm at Pezzi King with the 2008 harvest, producing multiple Gold Medal-winning wines from the start. Chris has worked closely with Ken Wilson to replant the Estate vineyards and help grow Pezzi King’s production. Chris maintains, “great wines really do start in the vineyard. You can’t make a great wine out of poor quality grapes.