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Our Winemaker

John Killebrew
Winemaker 

With over twenty years of experience in the wine industry and eight years at Havens Wine Cellars, winemaker John Killebrew blends his creativity with his love for the Napa Valley and fresh California flavors as he continues to make the great wines for which Havens is known.

As a kid, John had great aspirations of becoming a cowboy, contractor, artist, musician, videographer and geologist but was sidetracked from these aspirations after graduating from U.C. Davis with a degree in Fermentation Science in 1988. Prior to coming to Havens, John was fortunate enough to have worked closely with some of Napa’s second-generation pioneers of winemaking including Dawnine Dyer of Domaine Chandon and Randall Johnson of the Hess Collection. At both wineries, John quickly learned that behind most good wines were good people with good methodologies and a love for what they were doing. The best wines came from a commitment to all aspects of the process, from the land, to the grapes, to the cellar. Such a view transitioned well when John moved to Havens Wine Cellars and began working under Michael Havens in 2000.

In working with Michael, emphasis was placed on Havens’ wine being an expression of the vineyard: lively, balanced, layered and elegant. John became assistant winemaker in 2001, co-winemaker in 2005 and then winemaker in 2007. Today, using all that he has learned together with his own innate talents and those of the entire winemaking team, John continues the Havens tradition creating some of Napa’s finest Merlot and Merlot based blends as well as complex Syrahs inspired by the Northern Rhone. He is dedicated to the knowledge that good wine comes from good grapes, good practices, good people with a little help from nature.

As winemaker, John can often be found donning one of his many hats (both literal and figurative) needed in overseeing production at Havens as well as working to further implement sustainable wine practices in and around the winery.

In his free time, John enjoys playing trumpet in the cellar, organizing wiffle ball games, and trying unsuccessfully at home to form a family band.