Our Winemaker

Meet Our Winemaker

Winemaker Derek Irwin joined our team just before the 2024 harvest. His depth of experience and knowledge is the perfect fit for making our wines. He appreciates that our estate vineyards produce exceptional grapes, and he lets the wines made from these grapes speak for themselves — expressing a unique sense of place.

Derek is only our second winemaker. Our original winemaker helped us launch our brand with the 2005 vintage, and remained with us until he retired in 2024. We’re looking forward to an equally long and fruitful relationship with Derek as he continues to craft our wines.

A University of California at Davis graduate, Derek has been part of winemaking teams throughout Northern California since 1994. When we asked Derek to share his winemaking philosophy, he summed it like this, “I want the wines we produce to express where they came from, not to taste like everyone else’s wine.” That is exactly the winemaking approach we’ve had at Cache Creek Vineyards and Winery since we started. We’re thrilled to have Derek continue our winery’s legacy.

When not making wine or checking vineyards, Derek enjoys spending time exploring the outdoors with his wife and their four children.