Yvonne and Bill Kreck

As proprietors of Mill Creek Vineyards, and one of three generations running the winery, Bill and Yvonne Kreck have a hard time separating family life from work. For them, being part of a winemaking family is both a way of life and a way to make a living. The best part is that neither could have have asked for a more fitting way to blend similar backgrounds and beliefs.

Both Bill and Yvonne came from backgrounds that emphasized respect for agriculture. Both had the idea of wise and conservative use of land, and deep respect for those who make their livings from it, ingrained from the time they were children. While their paths eventually,but temporarily, separated, they both returned to their roots in Sonoma County to marry, raise a family, and help run the family business. Their childhood experiences also provided them with strong senses of community, and a commitment to maintain the rural lifestyle.

Bill’s family history is the history of Mill Creek Vineyards itself. Charles and Vera Kreck brought their three children to Alexander Valley, almost by accident. Moving north to Oregon from Southern California in December, 1948, flooded roads forced a stopover in Healdsburg. Out of curiosity and with not much else to do, Charles looked at a couple of parcels of land, bought one in Alexander Valley, and the young family had a new direction. They moved once more, to the ranch on Mill Creek Road; Vera Kreck continues to live there. From there, Charles continued adding to the family’s real estate holdings, with Bill and James pitching in to help with taking care of livestock and crops. In 1969, a prune orchard along Westside Road became a cabernet sauvignon vineyard; the grapes were some of the first planted in the Dry Creek Valley since before Prohibition, leading the way for the wine industry boom over the next two-and-a-half decades. Mill Creek Vineyards now stands where the old fruit trees once grew.

Yvonne’s family also migrated to Alexander Valley—from Berkeley—before she was born, and likewise never left. In fact, she and Bill raised their three sons in the house in which she grew up. Land that was once corrals and pasture for her horses are now filled with grapevines: it took many years, but Bill’s dream of a small vineyard on the Chalk Hill Road property came true in 1991; amidst two-hundred-year-old valley oaks are seven acres now planted to the classic Bordeaux varietals cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and merlot used in the Kreck Estate Meritage, Reflections. Mill Creek Vineyards’ Cabernet Sauvignon blends grapes from this vineyard with those grown on the Dry Creek Valley Estate.

Tiny Alexander Valley School provided the first opportunity for the two to meet—they were classmates in a combined first-second grades class of 12 students. Bill left after that year when his family moved to Mill Creek Road, but he and Yvonne both attended Healdsburg High School, although memories of each other then are admittedly vague. The third school in common proved to be the charm when they met up again at California State University, Chico, where Bill majored in business administration and Yvonne earned a Masters' degree in psychology. Bill served with the US Coast Guard Reserves, stationed out of Alameda and Monterey before returning to help run the family’s new winery, having been put in charge of marketing. He and Yvonne were married in 1971; their oldest son Brian was born in 1973, followed by Jeremy in 1977 and Philip in 1979. Yvonne taught psychology at the community college level for seven years before turning her attentions full-time to her family, and consequently, the family business.

The Krecks believe in being involved and giving back, and have been leaders in many community and industry organizations. Bill has been a member of the Sonoma County Wineries Association since 1981 and is currently on its Board of Directors; he remains one of only a few principals who participate regularly in the Association’s national Annual Grand Tour. He was a founding member of the Sonoma County Vinter’s Cooperative, which stores and ships roughly one million cases a year for 43 member wineries. Yvonne served on local school boards for 19 years, focusing on curriculum development, and was involved in drafting and passing county and state legislation. In 1986 she helped start the United Winegrowers of Sonoma County, and remains an active member of this political action and monitoring group favoring “right to farm” ideals. Yvonne joined the Mill Creek staff full-time in 1993, taking on hospitality and retail management duties after Bill’s mother retired. She is currently serving as President of the Russian River Wine Road, a group comprised of wineries and lodgings as a forum for discussion and policy setting on local promotion and tourism issues.

Being part of a winemaking family is nothing short of carrying on a centuries-old tradition, practiced around the world and in California. For Bill and Yvonne Kreck, running a family winery and raising a family have been identical endeavors—and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

Jeremy Kreck

Growing up on a vineyard outside of Healdsburg, Jeremy has a deep-rooted appreciation for the Sonoma County wine culture. “The wine, food, art, and climate of the greater Healdsburg area make it an extraordinary place to live. Did I mention the wine?”

After high school, Jeremy attended California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, where he studied Agribusiness and of course, wine and viticulture. “The central coast, at that time, was experiencing a huge boom in grape plantings and wine production. There was a great interest from the industry, which in turn led to a certain electricity in the wine and viticulture programs at the university.” Post college, Jeremy returned to Healdsburg where he began in the cellar and vineyards at Mill Creek. “Being both in the vineyards and winery, I attained a great perspective of the relationships between the vines and finished wines.” Jeremy worked under Hank Skewis, Mill Creek’s former winemaker, for 4 vintages and also continued his education with wine production courses at UC Davis.

Jeremy’s first harvest as winemaker was 2004, which was the earliest in 100 years. “I took a sugar sample on the Sauvignon Blanc the last day of July.
21.7 Brix! We ended up picking two and a half weeks early.”

Jeremy’s objective in winemaking is to essentially stay out of the way of the vineyard and the expression of the fruit. “My goal is to have the winemaking process and components compliment and enhance the fruit.” He maintains a hands-on approach that includes weekly vineyard inspections and smells and tastes each barrel of wine every six to eight weeks.

Jeremy lives with his wife, Mindy, in Healdsburg. Together they enjoy ‘the wine-country lifestyle’ with weekly trips to the farmers market, tending to the vegetable garden, golf, and of course cooking.

Brian Kreck

Born in 1973, Brian has been around since Mill Creek crushed and cellared its first release in 1974. The business and family have always been intertwined. Bill, Yvonne and Brian lived in the house on the winery property that now serves as the administrative offices; now he sits at his desk in the same place he sat for dinner. There was no tasting room in those days and when visitors wanted to sample wine, they were served by Bill or Yvonne in the living room. One evening, the family was just sitting down to eat, and a car pulled up. Brian sat in his high chair enjoying his spaghetti as the guests tasted the new Mill Creek wines. Obviously, the time had come for the winery to invest in a place to receive guests. When construction of the tasting room began in 1982, Brian remembers watching his father and uncle fell the trees and mill the wood into beams which would go into building the replica of a turn-of-the-century lumber mill.

Brian and his two brothers all attended Alexander Valley School, the same tiny school where their parents met for the first time when they were in a combined first-second grade class. After high school he attended the University of California at Davis. There, he majored in economics, and minored in computer science and business management. At the university, Brian was a member of the crew team, and chapter president of Delta Sigma Pi, an international business fraternity for men and women. In the Davis community, he tutored high school math students and served on the Yolo County Suicide Prevention Hotline Team for four years.

Like all family members, Brian wears a variety of caps in performing his job duties at Mill Creek Vineyards. Currently, Brian is in charge of the website, bookkeeping and tax matters, and winery computer systems. He also represents the winery, and the family, on the road and at home at tastings, special events, and visiting distributors across the country.

Brian has served on the board of directors of the Sonoma County Wineries Association since January 2000. He became the president in October, 2005 and has been supervising a period of great change for the organization. The SCWA is the largest marketing trade organization in Sonoma County and continues to promote Sonoma County as a world-class wine growing region.

In a separate venture, Brian began a website design company in 1997, Kreck Design Solutions, which has given him a great opportunity to meet other people in the wine industry and the community. He currently works out of an office in nearby Santa Rosafor both Kreck Design Solutions and Mill Creek. Kreck Designs has over a hundred clients many of which are in the wine and hospitality industries.

About Us | Tasting Room | Wines | Distributors | Winemaking | Vineyards | Photo Album
Events | Contact Us | History | Biographies | Wine Club | E-Newsletter | Recipes | Tasting Room
Map | Find a Distributor | Wines | Medals & Accolades | Product Sheets | Downloadable Graphics