Winemaker Interview Series – Jeremiah Timm – Paul Hobbs Winery – March 2026

On Wednesday, March 4, 2026, we interviewed Jeremiah Timm. Jeremiah is the Director of Winemaking at Paul Hobbs Winery. We covered seven wines during the visit. We started with two Paul Hobbs Chardonnays from the 2023 vintage. Then we covered two 2023 Paul Hobbs Pinot Noirs. We then had a 2023 Paul Hobbs Cabernet Sauvignon from “Coombsville.” After that we wrapped up the interview and tasting by covering both 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon’s from their Crossbarn project. It was another great tasting! In this post, you can learn what we learned about Jeremiah, the history of the winery, and read our reviews of all of these impressive wines.

Before we get to the wines, I thought I would share some tidbits that Jeremiah shared in the interview.

• Tell us a little bit about the Paul Hobbs Winery history?
  • Paul Hobbs is a fourth-generation farmer.
    • Paul was eventually guided by his upbringing on a farm in western New York.
    • But he never really intended to go into farming or winemaking. He went to Notre Dame to become a doctor. He was pre-med and received BS in Chemistry from there in 1975.
    • At the encouragement of his father, he attended UC Davis graduate school. While there he was inspired by his professors and his enology studies which led him down a path into wine.
    • He also traveled to Europe which also inspired his curiosity in wine.
    • He worked at Robert Mondavi and was on the inaugural winemaking team in 1979 for Opus One.
      • He worked for 7 years at Mondavi.
      • He worked for 6 years at Opus One.
    • In 1988, midway thru his career at Simi winery, he went to Chile on a trip. Because of some circumstances with his guest from Argentina. He had to leave and ended up in Argentina. This was the beginning of his interest in that country for wine.
  • In 1991 Paul started Paul Hobbs Winery
    • Paul is a risk taker.
    • He pushes his team to take risks.
    • The winery and vineyard sites are an important part of their current philosophy.
      • Over the years, they have moved to lower use of herbicides and pesticides.
      • They have also moved to using more “Estate” vineyards.
  • Paul started his exploration of making wine in Argentina in 1991.
    • He made his first Argentinian wines in 1992 under the Alamos label.
    • He thought Malbec had a lot of potential there.
    • In 1998 he started Vina Cobos Winery in Argentina
      • He did a lot to raise the quality of the vineyards and the grapes there.
      • He now goes there 3 to 4 times per year supporting this project.
  • Meanwhile back in California he started Crossbarn in 2000.
    • This is a second label for their appellation wines.
    • They make Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon under this label.
  • Today Paul is the owner, vintner, and partner for seven wineries around the world.
    • He does quarterly tours to support and consult on these projects.
      • As noted above he has Paul Hobbs and Crossbarn in Sebastopol, California.
      • Hillick & Hobbs in the Finger Lakes in New York.
      • Viña Cobos in Mendoza, Argentina.
      • Crocus in Cahors, France.
      • Yacoubian-Hobbs in Vayots Dzor, Armenia.
      • Alvaredos-Hobbs in Galicia, Spain.
• Tell us about Jeremiah Timm and your background and how you made it to the Paul Hobbs winery?
  • Jeremiah grew up in Wisconsin.
  • His wine industry roots run deep, starting in the industry at the age of 17 as a vineyard and cellar worker at Wollersheim Winery in Prairie du Sac.
    • He continued to work at Wollersheim Winery during school breaks.
    • He worked there for 8 years.
  • He got his Bachelor of Science degree in Enology from Fresno State University in California.
  • After graduation he decided to permanently move to California.
  • He started at Kosta Browne as an intern in 2008.
  • He became the enologist at Moshin for 1.5 years.
    • They made their wine via a custom crush facility.
  • He then returned to Kosta Browne from 2010 to 2017.
    • While there he went from Enologist to Assistant Winemaker to eventually Director of Winemaking Operations.
    • He was part of the crew that built the winery.
  • From there he spent a year at Frank Family from June 2017 to June 2018.
  • From 2018 to 2022 he joined Michael Browne and built CIRQ and CHEV.
    • Like at KB, they built the winery from the ground up.
  • He started with Pauk Hobbs in 2024.
    • Jeremiah works closely with Paul to oversee all aspects of the laboratory and cellars, including fermentation, aging, and bottling.
• So, tell us about these wines which come from the 2023 vintage?
  • 2023 was a cooler vintage and most grapes came in 2-4 weeks later than normal.
• Tell us about the Appellations and Vineyards you use?
  • They like to focus and emphasize AVA’s.
  • West Sonoma Coast is a new Appellation wine for them. They started in 2022.
    • A group of vineyards owners pushed for this new appellation as it is very distinct and different than the massive Sonoma Coast appellation.
    • Their vineyard source is all “Estate” fruit.
    • It provides both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
      • They have recently added more acres of Chardonnay.
  • Russian River Valley.
    • The Chardonnay is sourced from five vineyards. Four “Estate” vineyards and one long term grower vineyard.
    • The Pinot Noir is a majority of “Estate” fruit.
    • They have their own crew work the vineyards.
  • Coombsville
    • Used to be their Napa Valley Cabernet.
    • It is mainly “Estate” fruit from a large vineyard. A small % comes from a grower vineyard.
• Tell us a little bit about Crossbarn?
  • Another winemaker makes the wines day to day.
  • Jeremiah oversea all facets of the project.
  • He is involved in the blending process.
  • The “Alexander Valley” Cabernet is from one vineyard. The focus is on the Appellation’s style.
  • The “Napa Valley” Cabernet is predominantly “Estate” fruit.
• If you want to learn more about Paul Hobbs, his history, and the Paul Hobbs Winery, Listen to these two Podcasts episode with Paul.
  • Paul Hobbs on The Taste with Doug Shafer
  • Most recently – How Paul Hobbs Builds Global, Enduring Brands on the Taste Podcast.

Below is a summary of the wine offerings from the Paul Hobbs Winery and Crossbarn Winery that we covered with Jeremiah. The links below are to our full reviews. If you are interested in ordering and trying these wines, you will find some of these wines via your favorite fine wine shop or on top quality wines lists. You can also purchase these wines on the Paul Hobbs Winery and Crossbarn Winery websites. They also have this cool wine finder search tool on their website.

1) Paul Hobbs 2023 Chardonnay “West Sonoma Coast” $70 (KWGTP 93)
2) Paul Hobbs 2023 Chardonnay “Russian River Valley” $70 (KWGTP 93.5)
3) Paul Hobbs 2023 Pinot Noir “West Sonoma Coast” 100% $80 (KWGTP 94)
4) Paul Hobbs 2023 Pinot Noir “Russian River Valley” 100% $80 (KWGTP 94)
5) Paul Hobbs 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon “Coombsville” $120 (KWGTP 94.5)

6) Crossbarn 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon “Alexander Valley” $45 (KWGTP 93)
7) Crossbarn 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon “Napa Valley” $60 (KWGTP 93)

You can find reviews of past and future Paul Hobbs wines that we cover on the Paul Hobbs Winery KWG winery page on our website. You can also find reviews of past and future Crossbarn wines that we cover on the Crossbarn KWG winery page on our website.

We hope you enjoy these terrific wines as much as we did. Cheers! – Ken