William Knuttel brings a broad range of practical and artistic winemaking talent to Dry Creek Vineyard. Bill, who began as winemaker in July 2003, joins an established family winery committed to quality with great estate vineyards and long-term contracts with highly regarded local growers.
 

For the past 20 years, Bill has focused his winemaking on ultra-premium and luxury wines, gathering a wide range of experience not only in winemaking but also in viticulture, winery construction and wine education. While his training is rooted in science, Bill’s approach to winemaking hinges on an artistic approach, letting instinct and experience set the tone while minimizing the use of technology. Prior to joining Dry Creek Vineyard, Bill was the winemaker at Chalk Hill Estate Vineyards & Winery for seven years and at Saintsbury for 13 years. In both cases he was recognized for his superlative Chardonnay and, at Saintsbury, exceptional Pinot Noir. His wines are some of the most respected in California.

A native of Philadelphia, Bill moved to Rancho Cucamonga, California, with his family when he was a teenager. Intrigued by the pre-Prohibition wineries there, his walks to school often detoured through old vineyards. He graduated from California Polytechnic University, Pomona, with a BS in Chemical Engineering in 1976. His interest in the arts and humanities and his studies of literature and history, however, made him a Renaissance man instead of a techie.
 

With degree in hand, he entered the work world at Dow Chemical in San Francisco, specializing in plant design and start-up—great tools for a winemaker, who essentially builds new wines each vintage. While his days were full of analysis and lab work, he spent much of his free time reading, listening to music and pursuing fine wines.

Lisa Bishop Forbes is an integral part of our winemaking team. With more than 20 years of winemaking experience, Lisa is the day-to-day decision maker in our cellar, ultimately responsible for ensuring that we produce only the highest quality wines.

Following graduation from California State University, Fresno, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Enology, Lisa cut her teeth at one of Napa Valley’s most esteemed properties, Joseph Phelps Vineyards. As enologist, Lisa was responsible for managing the laboratory, supervising cellar work and working with the assistant winemaker and winemaker in making blending decisions. For almost ten years, Lisa learned the winemaking ropes at Phelps, educating herself in every aspect of the business. In 1995, Lisa joined Chalk Hill Estate Winery as assistant winemaker. Leaving one well regarded winery and heading for another, Lisa became the right hand of winemaker Bill Knuttel as they worked together to make world class estate wines. In addition, Lisa was responsible for the entire cellar ensuring the high standards set by Bill and the Chalk Hill family.

The opportunity to work again with Bill brought Lisa to Dry Creek Vineyard in July 2004. Both Bill and Lisa share a similar philosophy and vision for winemaking and their partnership has created a whole new mentality in the cellar at Dry Creek Vineyard. Attention to detail, quality control and superior winemaking talents set Lisa apart in many ways. With Lisa overseeing the cellar at Dry Creek Vineyard, our family is confident that the quality of wines produced will only improve in the coming years.

When she is not putting in long hours at Dry Creek, Lisa can be found spending quality time with her husband, Ken, and 3 year-old son, Colin.