our Story
Sophie James is a different kind of wine company. We are a female-run, first-generation, family-owned wine company on a mission to disrupt the wine industry by focusing on the value of organic farming, and creating quality, low-intervention wines. You will see, taste, and feel the difference.
Sophie James was founded on the principles of organic farming and our love of nature. We believe that organic farming is better for the health of our water, soil, farm workers, communities, and Mother Earth. We also believe that organic farming (farming without the use of harsh herbicides and pesticides) leads to the highest-quality wines.
Our epic journey began in 2010 when we took a dramatic leap of faith to follow our dream: to start a new life and build a home together in the countryside. At the time I was a stem cell scientist at UCSF, and James had recently returned from London. We were both at a crossroads and feeling burnt out on city life.
We found our beloved Mountaintop property, which just happened to have some wild Pinot Noir vineyards, and from the moment we stepped foot on the land we knew our lives were about to change forever. We packed our bags and never looked back.
We bought the property in 2010, and had our first grape harvest two weeks later! We spent the next few years fixing up the house and focusing heavily on organic farming.
We got married in 2012, and had our first of three daughters in 2013. We were happy and in love, and our little family continued to grow with our second daughter in 2015 (and recently, we became a party of five when our third arrived in late 2021!).
In the years prior to launching Sophie James, we sold our organically-farmed grapes to an esteemed, family-owned winery. We had no plans of launching a wine company. They were eventually bought by a big wine conglomerate, and we quickly learned through some heartbreaking experiences that they did not value organic farming, share our principles, nor did they respect us as farmers and humans.
It was difficult to accept that there is a dark side of the wine industry. But ultimately, our negative experiences became the impetus that lit a fire in my belly and led us to launch Sophie James.
We vowed to establish our own wine company, one that was different from any other, one that would champion positive change in the wine industry, and would forever prioritize the values of organic farming, our community, and the environment.