There is no other place on earth like Yosemite National Park. We know because we’ve looked. Towering granite, ancient sequoias, winding waterways, a sky that seems too big to be real. This is the land that eventually became our vineyard and our home.
Planted in 2007 at 3,000 feet in the Sierra Foothills, just outside Groveland, California, Yosemite Cellars makes wines that reflect where they come from: high-elevation, hand-farmed, and shaped by the same dramatic terrain that stops people in their tracks.
A family dream, fifty years in the making. The Harms family has been tied to this land since 1958 — and today, Yosemite Cellars is where that story lives.
The story of Yosemite Cellars begins with a dream that took fifty years to fulfill. In 1958, Ron's parents discovered a parcel of land near Groveland, California, captivated by its views of Yosemite National Park. They imagined building a home there someday. Decades passed, but the dream didn't.
In 2008, Ron Harms and his wife Cheryl, parents of Ryan and Eric Harms, returned to that land and made the family vision a reality. The vineyard had been planted the year before, in 2007, with varieties chosen specifically for the mountain environment. Ron and Cheryl built their home there and established the winery. Today, Yosemite Cellars is part of Union Wine Company, the company their sons built in Oregon.
Like the event that inspired it, Firefall only comes together when conditions are just right. A high-elevation red blend shaped by rocky soils and mountain air, bright, structured, and worth the wait.
Available in Bottles & Cans
Grown on our rocky, south-facing slope, this Rosé balances sun-drenched fruit with cool alpine nights; delivering delicate notes of honeydew, pink grapefruit, and honeysuckle. A refreshing taste of the Sierra Foothills.
Available in Bottles & Cans
Depending on the vintage, we release single-variety bottlings of our mountain-grown Syrah, Grenache, Tannat, and Cabernet Franc — each shaped by the same elevation and terrain, each with its own character.
.jpg)
Situated at 3,000 feet in the Sierra Foothills AVA, just outside Groveland, California, our vineyard was planted in 2007 on a rocky, south-facing slope that delivers abundant daily sunlight and cool nights throughout the growing season. The vines were selected specifically for this environment: varieties that bud late to avoid the threat of late frost and ripen early to make the most of a shorter mountain season.
We farm with a philosophy of less is more. Through organic inputs, manual weed control, and careful water management, we try to leave a light footprint on the land we've been entrusted to farm. Pruning and canopy management are all done by hand, because we believe that kind of attention is what the vines and this place deserve.
Farming & Planted
Sustainable practices; organic inputs; hand-pruned and hand-managed canopy
Elevation & Soil
Elevation: 3,000 ft.
Aspect: South-facing slope
Primary Grapes
Syrah, Grenache, Tannat, Cabernet Franc
One of a Kind Terroir
There is no other wine region in the country quite like the Sierra Foothills at 3,000 feet. The combination of elevation, rocky soils, and dramatic temperature swings produces fruit that's impossible to replicate anywhere else.
Varieties You Don't Often See
Tannat, Grenache, Syrah, Cabernet Franc. These aren't the grapes you typically find in a can or at this price point, and that's exactly the point. The mountain environment suited them, so we planted them.
A Real Family Story
Ron Harms is the father of Ryan Harms, who founded Union Wine Company, and Eric Harms, co-owner and CFO. The love for this land predates the company by decades, and that history carries through everything made here.
Hand-Farmed, High Elevation
Every vine is hand-pruned and hand-managed. The approach is deliberate and unhurried, because the land here asks for that kind of attention.
.png){kind=logo}
