Our Story

Dutch Bill Creek Winery was founded in 1997 by Charlie Heintz and is the result and natural progression from growing quality wine grapes into making quality wines as well. Careful management in the vineyard allows us to pick fruit at that perfect moment and we monitor the winemaking process just as painstakingly, every step of the way. In our winemaking practices, we strive to maximize the flavors of the fruit from this special site and present them in every glass of our wine poured. Very small and vastly unpretentious, Dutch Bill Creek keeps company with some of the world's smallest producing wineries with an annual production under 1000 cases between the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir we currently produce. Our commitment is to remain a small producer offering some the best wines available from this exceptional wine region of the world. Although we do not have a tasting room at this time and visits to Heintz Ranch are by appointment only, we quote an astute man who put it all in perspective: ''No
fountains, no marble, no 2 million dollar tasting room - just damn good wine!''— Steve Hoppin, Southern Wine & Spirits of Colorado.

''No fountains,
no marble, no 2 million dollar tasting room - just damn good wine!''

About Our Label

Our winery name pays homage to William Howard, alias ''Dutch Bill'' a hardheaded, unorthodox character who originally settled the area becoming one of its principal landowners, and to the Creek named after him, some headwaters to which flow from Heintz Ranch. The Dutch Bill Creek logo symbolizes the late-1800's history of Occidental, California, when the North Pacific Coast Railroad served as a connection to and from

San Francisco Bay for the transport of timber and produce, as well as tourists and weekenders to Occidental and vacation camps tucked among the towering Redwoods along the Russian River. Originally, Occidental was called Howard's or Howard's Summit because ''Dutch Bill'' gave the railroad a right of way over his land and in return they gave him a lifetime pass on the train, which often stopped at his front gate; hence the name of Howard's. It is undecided why or when the name changed to Occidental.